As majority of schools and universities open their classes Tuesday, Malacañang assured the readiness of all concerned agencies, including the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to ensure a seamless school opening. Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn, also the director general of the Presidential Management Staff, said the security plans were laid down by the authorities as million of students flock to both private and public schools and universities. DepEd said around 24 million pre-school, elementary, and high students troop back to public and private schools as the classes open for the school year 2010 to 2011 this Tuesday. But while the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that Luzon and Visayas will have generally good weather conditions this Tuesday, it expects isolated rain showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening. Therefore, it advised students to bring with them umbrellas for the likely drizzles. Based on the data gathered by the Department of Education (DepEd) through its Basic Education Information System (BEIS), it was estimated that the total number of students from the basic education sector - which covers pre-school, elementary, and secondary levels - trooping to their respective schools is 23.43 million. Of this number, 20.17 million are in public schools while the remaining 3.26 million elementary and high school students are absorbed by the private schools.
According to figures released by DepEd, the number of public schools - including recently established pre-schools set up by DepEd in coordination with the Early Childhood Care and Development Coordinating Council - has a total of 59,045 wherein 37,967 are public elementary schools, 5,237 are high schools, and 15,841 are pre-schools. Education Secretary Mona Valisno said that the Department is as ready as can be for the opening of classes. "We can say that DepEd is 100 percent ready," she said. Valisno also has ensured the smooth opening of classes based on the reports of its partners in the government and private sector who did they part in ensuring an orderly and hitch-free school opening under the Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE) project. Through the OBE, Valisno said DepEd is exerting its utmost effort in making sure that classes are seamless, the streets are safe, and that basic utilities and services are available for the students who will go back to school. "Education is everybody's business.
That is why we ask the assistance and support of other agencies to make sure that the school opening will run smoothly and orderly," she said. According to DepEd Undersecretary for Regional Operations Ramon Bacani, the Department and its partner agencies - including the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Health (DoH), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration
(PAG-ASA), Manila Electric Company (Meralco), Manila Water, Maynilad, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) - did all the necessary preparations for Tuesday's opening of classes. "All necessary measures and possible scenarios that may arise have already been discussed to ensure that the opening of classes will be smooth," he said. According to DTI Director Victorio Dimagiba, the Department did its best to ensure that the prices of school supplies are kept stable before the opening of classes. "We had continuous monitoring on the prices of school supplies to ensure that no parents or students will complain," he said. NCRPO chief Eric Reyes, on the other hand, aims to report zero crime incident involving students by doing the necessary measures to ensure the general safety of the children. "We want to maintain safety and order by arresting criminals from school vicinities and by ensuring that no incidence of crime will take place within school premises," he said.
For its part, DPWH Assistant Secretary Roy Manao said that the they have cleared structures on national roads, repaired potholes, repainted pedestrian lanes, removed unsafe billboards, and cleaned the canals to ensure the safety of the students, specially the pupils in the elementary level. According to Bacani, there is smoother and more manageable opening of classes this year compared to last year. It can be recalled that the opening of classes on 2009 has been moved to later date because of the possible AH1N1 outbreak in schools.
