DepEd says 14 schools in Davao de Oro sustained damage after being hit by a 6.0-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday. (Photos by DepEd)
MANILA, Philippines – The 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck New Bataan in Davao de Oro on Wednesday left 14 schools in the area with damage, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Friday.
Citing the report of its Region XI educational cluster, DepEd said it would need around P7 million to rehabilitate and reconstruct the damaged schools.
The agency did not give any details as to the extent of the damage the schools sustained.
DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said students affected by schools with damage would undergo alternative delivery modes or distance learning in the meantime.
Temporary learning spaces will also be set up for schools with major infrastructure damage, he adds.
“Ang protocol po natin is that Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) or distance learning muna ang mga learners affected by schools with infrastructure damage, para hindi maantala ang pag-aaral,” Poa told reporters in a Viber message.
(Our protocol is that students will undergo distance learning in the meantime so that their studies will not be affected.)
“Then provision of temporary learning spaces for schools with major infrastructure damages, while being repaired,” he added.
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte earlier said that the lack of school infrastructure and resources is the “most pressing issue” faced by the Philippine education sector.
She revealed that while there are a total of 327,851 school buildings in the country, there are only 104,536 that are in “good condition.”
Meanwhile, 100,072 schools need minor repairs, 89,252 that require major repairs, and 21,727 that are set for condemnation.
The earthquake struck New Bataan in Davao de Oro on Wednesday with a recorded 6.0 magnitude.
Read: Magnitude 6 earthquake rocks New Bataan town in Davao de Oro
A total of 390 aftershocks were recorded on Thursday after the quake, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. – Mae Anne F. Bilolo, intern