DavNorDepEd set for June 2 classes

DAVAO DEL NORTE, May 12 (PIA) - - - Classes will open on June 2.

Josephine Fadul, schools division superintendent of the Department of Education (DepEd) stationed in this province, stressed in an interview that the start of classes for schools year 2014-2015 is on the first Monday of June.

Fadul said that the private schools were encouraged to adopt the same schedule with the public school, but they may opt to open their classes afterwards, which should not be later than August 31.

Fadul said that with the mandate of having 180 schools days, classes may end on March 25 in a normal situation.

She explained that due to climate change, classes recently are being disturbed by disasters resulting to its closing on April or May.

Fadul also said that the division is also set to conduct the BrigadaSkwela, which will be launched on May 19 at Sto. Tomas National High School.

According to Engr. Lolita Andamon, the BrigadaSkwela will kick off with a caravan from the division office in Mankilam, Tagum City with pits stop at five schools.

The identified schools were Cambagonoy Central Elementary School in Asuncion, Maniki Elementary Schools in Kapalong, Sto. Tomas Central Elementary School and NAFCO Central Elementary School in Sto. Tomas and Magsaysay Central Elementary School in Carmen.

The seven-day BrigadaSkwela will focus on developing disaster resilient school communities emphasizing more on school building repairs and drainage development than beautification activities, Andamon said.

Fadul revealed that the major cause of the obstruction of classes in the province is the flood. She added that the division sought assistance to the local government units with flood prone schools to aid in building disaster ready schools.

She added that the local government may opt to seek another location to transfer flood prone schools.

Meanwhile, Fadul also said that the division will implement senior high school level to eight secondary schools in the province.

Fadul said that the level was scheduled to be applied on 2016; however, they will implement it in a key secondary school in the eight municipalities of the province as an experiment phase of the implementation of the senior high level.

She added that the key schools with its experience from this school year up to the next will be the baseline for the full implementation of the senior high level in the different high schools of the province. (PIA 11, Michael Uy)