Philippine schools open even as flooded areas pick up the pieces

MANILA, Philippines – When floodwaters started to rise on Wednesday, July 24, Clarissa Brillantes of Barangay Tumana in Marikina City immediately evacuated her three children to the nearest school, which provided temporary shelter for families affected by the flooding.

“Lagpas tao siya. Hindi ko na makapa ‘yung lupa e. Hindi na namin naasikaso ‘yung gamit namin (It was above head level. I couldn’t reach the ground. We weren’t able to save our things),” Brillantes said on Thursday, July 25, as she recalled their harrowing experience during the onslaught of the southwest monsoon or habagat, which was enhanced by Typhoon Carina (Gaemi).

Brillantes said it was already knee-deep when they woke up on Wednesday morning. By noon, floodwaters had already reached their roof.

Aside from their devastated home, Brillantes was worried about the possibly ruined school supplies she bought for her three children. Her kids were supposed to start classes at H. Bautista Elementary School in Marikina City, where they also found temporary shelter.

Although she had not yet been able to check the condition of the school supplies at the time she spoke with Rappler, Brillantes said she was certain that the new notebooks, bags, pencils, and crayons were already soaked.

“Kakabili ko lang noon eh. P4,000 rin nagastos ko roon sa school supplies para sa pasukan (I recently bought those. I spent P4,000 for the school supplies for the start of classes),” she said.

Due to the impact of severe flooding, the Department of Education (DepEd) postponed the opening of academic year 2024-2025 in at least 979 schools.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara earlier thumbed down proposals for a blanket suspension that would cover all 45,000 public schools in the country.

“Last year, students missed up to 53 class days out of the 180-day school year…. We should take advantage of every day to learn because we don’t want a repeat of the learning loss which has already occurred,” Angara said in a post on X on Thursday.

First school opening under Angara

The school opening on Monday, July 29, is Angara’s first since he assumed the DepEd leadership from Vice President Sara Duterte, who resigned from the position effective July 19.

The newly installed education chief, a former senator who used to sponsor the DepEd’s budget in Congress, will have a firsthand look at problems confronting the education sector when he visits select schools on Monday.

Angara will visit Carmona National High School and Carmona Elementary School in Carmona City, Cavite; Muntinlupa National High School in Muntinlupa City; and Casimiro A. Ynares Sr. Memorial National High School in Taytay, Rizal.

The DepEd secretary was supposed to go first to Biñan Central Elementary School in Biñan City, Laguna, but all classes in the city were suspended early Monday.

In the past years, students were greeted with classroom shortages, lack of tables and chairs, and flooded classrooms.

Classroom shortages have been a perennial problem in the country, with some schools packing 50 to 60 students into one classroom supposedly meant for only 40. To accommodate all enrollees, class shifting is typically implemented.

In August 2023, the DepEd said the country lacked 159,000 classrooms. The education department’s standard classroom-to-student ratios are one classroom for every 35 students for primary school and one classroom for every 40 students for junior and senior high school.

Under Duterte’s leadership, only around 3,600 new classrooms out of the planned 6,300 were built.

The Matatag curriculum, or the revised basic education curriculum crafted during Duterte’s time at the DepEd, will also be rolled out for kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 4, and Grade 7 this school year — only the first phase of implementation. Foundational subjects will focus on language, reading and literacy, mathematics, makabansa or nationalism, and good manners and right conduct.

In terms of enrollment, DepEd records show that 19,268,747 students have enlisted so far. This figure is expected to go up in the coming days, as students can still enroll even after classes have already started.

Monday’s school opening also marks the start of the gradual transition to the old academic calendar, where classes start in June and end in March. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the transition because of the extreme heat during April and May. But for this current school year, classes will end on April 15, 2025. Succeeding academic years will be adjusted until the transition to the old calendar is complete.

Angara inherits gargantuan problems in the education sector, including the poor performance of Filipino students in global assessments. A World Bank report showed that 9 in 10 Filipino students aged 10 are struggling to read simple text.

The new DepEd chief has also vowed to improve the welfare of teachers. He promised to review their compensation package and provide additional training to enhance teaching quality. – Rappler.com