DepEd reports classroom shortage in NCR, Calabarzon

Two weeks before the School Year 2022-2023 officially begins, the Department of Education (DepEd) said there is still a shortage of classrooms in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Calabarzon due to the high number of students.

In a press conference Wednesday, DepEd spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said they are eyeing to implement double or triple shifts and blended learning to address the overcrowding of students in each classroom.

“Meron po talaga tayong shortage ngayon, especially in the Calabarzon area and Metro Manila, kasi may mga schools na reported na mga 68 students pa per classroom,” he said.

“Hopefully mga dalawang shifts lang. Kung hindi talaga kaya, then doon tayo magta-tatlo... Shifting para maiwasan ‘yung overcrowded para as much as possible, meron pa ring physical distancing ang mga bata. And then of course, there’s always the option of blended learning,” he added.

(We really have a shortage of classrooms now, especially in the Calabarzon area and Metro Manila, because there are schools that still have 68 students per classroom… Hopefully there will only be two shifts. If it's really not possible, then there will be three. This is to avoid overcrowding and so children will still have physical distancing. And then of course, there's always the option of blended learning.)

Poa also reiterated their plan to build temporary learning spaces in disaster-hit areas and said they are coordinating now with the local government units (LGUs) to look for available spaces like covered courts, where classes could be conducted.

He also announced they will launch on August 15 the DepEd’s Oplan Balik Eskwela Command Center to ensure a “smooth” resumption of the face-to-face classes starting August 22.

“The intention is to have a command center para po…siguro hihingi na rin kami ng tulong sa media, kapag may napansin kayo sa opening of classes na mga problema, concerns, o issues, matatawag ninyo kaagad sa’min ‘yan para matugunan kaagad ng DepEd,” he said.

(The intention is to have a command center for...maybe we will also ask for help from the media, if you notice any problems, concerns, or issues during the opening of classes, you can call us immediately so that the DepEd can address them.)

As of 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Poa said a total of 18.6 million students in private and public schools nationwide have enrolled for the upcoming school year.

He earlier said DepEd is expecting 28.6 million enrollees for the upcoming school year.

OVP’s medical assistance, free bus rides

In the same press conference, Atty. Reynold Munsayac, spokesperson of Vice President Sara Duterte, reported that as of Monday, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has already processed a total of P43,303,489.70 in its medical and burial assistance program since July 1.

Some P12 million has also been released to qualified beneficiaries from all OVP satellite offices and its NCR office.

The OVP’s “Peak Hours Augmentation Bus Service (PHABS) - Libreng Sakay” has also served a total of 7,764 passengers from August 3 to August 8.

Munsayac said the two buses that pass through the EDSA Bus Carousel route recorded the most number of passengers thus far with 3,528 on the NCR Bus 1, and 3,089 on the NCR Bus 2.

“So kung iisipin ninyo po, ‘yung ganyang kadaming pasahero, malaki po ‘yung naging katipiran nila sa gastos sa kanilang pagpunta sa kanilang trabaho dahil instead na gastusin pa nila sa pamasahe ay magagamit po nila sa ibang mga bagay na mas importante,” he said.

(If you think about it, many passengers have saved a lot when going to work because instead of spending on the fare, they can use it for other important things.)

A total of five buses were initially allocated for this program—two of which were deployed in Metro Manila, and one each in Davao City, Cebu, and Bacolod.—AOL, GMA News