Learning has been affected by lack of classrooms for thousands of students in schools that have been converted into evacuation centers for residents displaced by Kanlaon Volcano’s unrest, especially in La Castellana, Negros Occidental.
This is one of the biggest challenges faced by the Department of Education when classes open, Ian Arnold Arnaez, Negros Occidental Schools Division spokesperson, said Tuesday, June 3.
There is an existing DepEd policy that schools can only be used as evacuation centers for 15 days to minimize disruption to education, he said.
However, this has not been possible as the Kanlaon evacuees have been living in schools in La Castellana since December last year as they have nowhere to go, Arnaez said.
Currently being used as evacuation centers are the La Castellana Elementary School that had 1,495 learners enrolled last school year, Don Felix Robles ES – 1,768 and La Castellana NHS – 5,660 for a total of 8,923, Arnaez said.
La Castellana schools with displaced learners are Cabagna-an ES with 296, Mananawin ES – 145 and Old Fabrica ES – 286, Arnaez said.
Schools with some displaced learners are Sag-ang Integrated School with 757 learners and Biak na Bato ES with 474, he added.
There are not enough classrooms to accommodate students from schools within the 6-kilometer extended danger zone, while schools used as evacuation centers are left with fewer classrooms for learning, he said.
This has resulted in the scheduling of the use of the few available classrooms, with face to face classes held once a week, and distance and module learning on other days, Arnaez said.
This is affecting the learning process, he said.
He said canopies have been provided for makeshift classrooms but they are hot and not conducive for learning.
They also can only accommodate about 14 learners per tent compared to 30 to 40 in regular classrooms, Arnaez said.
However, pending the implementation of an alternative relocation plan by the local government they will have to make do with the current set up, he said.
La Castellana has a request for 30 more canopies to serve as alternative learning spaces, Donato Sermeno III, regional director of the Office of the Civil Defense – Negros Island Region, said on Tuesday.*