The Department of Education (DepEd) in General Santos City has urged parents of students to participate in the Brigada Eskwela in the second week of June as part of the preparations for the class opening on June 16, 2025.

DepEd-GenSan said the Brigada Eskwela will be conducted in 118 schools from June 9 to June 13.

The week-long activity will focus on preparing public school facilities for the resumption of classes.

Apart from general cleaning, the initiative also aims to assess the condition of classrooms to ensure the safety and security of students and teachers. This also includes inventory of school furniture like chairs.

According to DepEd-GenSan, the participation of parents and other stakeholders is essential in identifying school needs that require intervention from local and national government.

“Inaanyayahan namin ang lahat ng mga magulang, pati mga stakeholders , mga PTA, na tutulong at sasama sa aming mga gawain. Ang purpose naman ito ay ihanda ang paaralan para sa  safety and security, yung readiness ng  paaralan sa pag start ng klase,” DepEd-GenSan Education Program Supervisor, Ronald Radin, said.

DepEd clarified that parents are not required to pay any fee or contributions for the activity.

However, DepEd emphasized that the activity is open to voluntary donations.

“Hindi ninyo kailangan magbayad, hindi kailangan mag-contribute and on so on, andon lang kayo makita nag-participate at kung ano man ang maitulong niyo mag linis tayo mas maganda,” Radin added.

More than 117,000 students are expected to return to school on June 16.