Luistro: Zamboanga students affected by crisis to undergo stress debriefing

MANILA, Philippines—Education Secretary Armin Luistro said Friday students in Zamboanga City who were affected by the current fighting would undergo stress debriefing before returning to school.

“We want a return to normalcy but after an ordeal like this, students and teachers need psychosocial intervention and debriefing,” Luistro said in a statement.

Luistro said about 12,000 students will have to undergo Alternative Delivery Modes (ADM) or the nontraditional means of learning for the next three months due to the crisis that affected them and their schools.

Undersecretary for Regional Operations Rizalino Rivera said education authorities will set up temporary learning spaces in nonschool evacuation centers as the city recovers from the clash between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and government forces.

Rivera also said that based on the assessment of the Department of Education (DepEd), 80 percent of the public schools in the afflicted areas can already resume classes.

“We are currently preparing, with our division personnel, principals, and teachers to be ready for school opening as soon as the Crisis Management Committee declares it safe to do so,” Luistro said.

Out of 205 public schools in Zamboanga, including annexes, 13 schools were being used as evacuation centers.

“On the first day back teachers need to do a headcount of their students first and assess if intervention is needed. The following days should also be devoted to planning by the principals to organize make-up classes. There will be no regular lessons yet,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rivera pointed out that 53 of their personnel trained to conduct psychological intervention were themselves affected.

“We have 253 personnel trained on psychosocial intervention just last month. However, 53 of them were directly affected so we need to debrief them first. We’ll also tap volunteers from other regions to assist,” he said.