DepEd cites 144 public schools as best at cleanup

Education Secretary Armin Luistro INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

A total of 144 public schools have been honored by the Department of Education (DepEd) for their exemplary performance in mobilizing community participation in Brigada Eskwela—an annual preschool opening cleanup and maintenance activity.

Based on DepEd’s performance monitoring and evaluation of 45,625 public schools nationwide, 144 schools were identified as Best School Implementers of Brigada Eskwela this year.

Of these schools, 70 are in Luzon, 30 in the Visayas and 44 in Mindanao. These schools were formally recognized in ceremonies on Friday at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas office in Manila.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said Brigada Eskwela was a fine example of how various sectors of a community could unite for education’s sake. “I believe that when it comes to education, people are naturally moved to work as one,” Luistro said in a statement.

Brigada Eskwela is a school maintenance program that engages education stakeholders both in the government and the private sector to contribute their time, resources and effort to spruce up public schools before the opening of classes.

This year, Brigada Eskwela generated over P1 billion worth of repair, construction and maintenance support, as well as volunteer services.

In gratitude to the participating schools, the DepEd has elevated to the Brigada Eskwela Hall of Fame those schools which have sustained their accomplishments for three consecutive years.

A total of 39 schools were chosen  for this award based on the scope of repair and maintenance work the schools had completed, the construction materials they generated, volunteer man-days mobilized and overall impact of the undertaking in the physical improvement of the schools.

Luistro, together with BSP Monetary Board member Felipe Medalla and DepEd Assistant Secretary Reynaldo Laguda, handed out the awards in an event attended by some 700 local government officials, program coordinators, school officials, parents, teachers and guests from the private sector.