Over 600 public schools lack facilities but all 46k ready for June 4 opening —DepEd

More than 600 public schools still lack certain facilities but the Department of Education said all 46,815 would be ready to welcome students on the first day of school on Monday, June 4.

"We would like to say that in all of our 46,815 public kinder, elementary, junior, and senior high school, handang handa na po tayo tanggapin ang lahat ng ating anak sa unang araw ng pasukan sa June 4," Education Undersecretary Tonisito Umali said on Balitanghali.

Umali said there were 638 problematic schools but added these only represent 2.68 percent of the 46,815 schools the were overseeing.

The DepEd's planning teams identified six variables to consider to check if the schools were ready, nearly ready, or needing support, Umali said.

"Ito po ay classrooms, teachers, toilets, seats, kung merong kuryente, may tubig ba, para maging basehan para kung sila ba ay ready, nearly ready, or need support," Umali said.

He added that the ideal classroom to pupil and teacher to pupil ratios were 1 to 25 for kindergarten, and 1 to 40 for grades 1 to senior high school.

There should be a toilet available for every 50 students, and one classroom seat for each of them.

If the schools don't reach those ratios but the numbers fall within the tolerable level, then they are categorized as nearly ready.

The 638 schools identified as needing support are found in many regions across the country, including Metro Manila.

However, Umali said that this did not mean that classes will not take place in these schools.

"Hindi po ibig sabihin nun na walang paaral o klase na mangyayari. Ang ibig sabihin lang nun ay mas maraming magaaral kada silid aralan, ang tinuturuan ng ating mga guro, ang gagamit ng ating palikuran," Umali said.

The DepEd will be addressing the issues of the schools that lack facilities and utilities, Umali said.

The procurement of textbooks to accommodate the shift to the K to 12 program is also underway, he added.

For now, some students and teachers will be using xeroxed copies of learners' materials created by DepEd, which are also available online. —Jessica Bartolome/NB, GMA News