You’ll graduate, Luistro assures storm victims

Education Secretary Armin Luistro. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Some 50,000 students in the public schools destroyed by Typhoon “Pablo” will graduate on schedule despite having to finish the school year in makeshift classrooms.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said their teachers would have to catch up to the prescribed syllabus so the students could graduate on March 22, the official end of classes in public schools.

“It will be a challenge in these four provinces but we’ve prepared (special learning) modules,” he said.

Luistro was referring to Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, Davao del Sur and Agusan del Sur which bore the brunt of Pablo’s onslaught on Dec. 4.

He and other Department of Education (DepEd) officials visited several schools in these provinces last Wednesday to oversee the resumption of classes and see the situation for themselves.

“I told the teachers we don’t have to be strict in covering the syllabus. There are lessons in Pablo for Science, Math, etc. We don’t want to miss that opportunity. We can’t be too stuck in the syllabus and textbooks,” Luistro said.

He also encouraged teachers to be creative in catching up to the syllabus.

“Ninety-nine percent of the schools have reopened but in most of the areas the buildings are not there so we sent in tent classrooms,” Luistro said.

Affected students and teachers have to make do with patched-up and tent classrooms for the rest of the school year while their school’s rehabilitation is underway.

About 50,000 students lost their textbooks and school materials along with their classrooms.

Luistro said they have asked the Department of Budget and Managementfor P1 billion in new funds so they can rebuild 1,100 destroyed classrooms and repair 1,300 others in Davao Oriental, Davao Del Sur, Compostela Valley and Agusan Del Sur.