Malacanang asks for cooperation for orderly school opening today

Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Reuters

MANILA — Malacanang has called on the public to work together and observe the ‘bayanihan’ spirit in assuring an orderly school opening where some 26 million public and private school students are expected to troop back to their schools nationwide.

Some 18,000 policemen will also be deployed nationwide as part of maintaining peace and order for the school opening today.

“We are calling on to all citizens to execute the spirit of bayanihan in the school opening,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in an interview on state-run dzRB radio on Sunday, June 1, a day before the actual school opening.

“Let us help each other to assure a safety and convenience of our young students,” he added.

Coloma said that there will be over 26 million public and private school students expected to return to their respective schools and about four billion college students by next week.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is preparing for the opening of classes with the help of parents, students, local communities, civil organizations, the local government and other organizations.

This year,in fact, the DepEd is already preparing for the first batch of the Junior High School that will start in 2016.

Some 1.59 million new chairs will also be added in classrooms.

Colona said that DepEd will also hire 33,194 teachers and 1,500 teaching related staff members this year.

Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, the PCOO chief, also noted that education remains free and no charges will be imposed, particularly to public school students.

Coloma said that for the part of the Philippine National Police (PNP) they will implement a comprehensive program to assure protection for students.  

They will also be organizing traffic flow, putting up police assistance desks (PADs), posting of police emergency hotlines and deploying personnel to address bullying among others.

The Aquino administration is committed in upholding the Constitutional mandate that the education must be one of the priorities in the national budget, Coloma stressed.

For the 2014 national budget, the DepEd has a total allocation of P335.4 billion, which is one of the highest allocation for the year, he added. (with a report from Philippine News Agency)