Consistent with its mandate to ensure the continuity of education even in the direst situation, the Department of Education Regional Office V is currently working to resume the regular classes in schools affected by the volcanic activities of Mt. Mayon.

During the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) meeting conducted last January 15, 2017 at the Headquarters of Tactical Operation Group V for the Mayon Operations, DRR Focal Person Maria Cristina Baroso said that Deped Bicol will implement contingency measures to immediately address the problem of students that were affected by the evacuation movement due to the abnormal state of the Mayon volcano.

Baroso said that if the volcanic event persists, Deped’s option is to establish Temporary Learning Spaces or TLS, thru the support of the Central Office and other government agencies in order for students to continue their education.

“Sa parte ng DepEd, hindi pwedeng pabayaan ang pagaaral ng mga estudyante. If the situation with Mayon persist, we really need to establish temporary learning shelters for the coping up activities of these affected learners”, Baroso said.

She also added that Deped will also conduct an inventory of all the donated tents during the Brigada Eskwela in the province of Albay and prepare them to augment the needed number of TLS.

Deped will construct the said Temporary Learning Spaces in 24 Public schools in Legazpi, Camalig, Guinobatan, Tabaco and Ligao which is presently occupied as evacuation centers.

As of January 20, 2018 DepED has already recorded 21,479 affected learners in Albay consisted of 15,575 resident learners and 3,904 displaced learners, after the implementation of the pre-emptive evacuation within the identified areas of high risk by the local government units. Deped is still expecting an increase on the number of the affected students due to the continuous evacuation effort in some areas in Albay.

DepEd Bicol is also open for any assistance that can help schools in the construction of TLS and other needs to facilitate the immediate resumption of classes.  (MKA//PAU)#