25 million return to school on June 13

MANILA, Philippines - Up to 25 million students are expected to return to school when classes open on June 13, higher by over a million from last year’s enrolment, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.

Education officials said the number of students returning to public schools next month is expected to increase because of the start of full implementation of the K-12 program, which adds two years to the basic education curriculum of the country.

The first batch of Grade 11 students, expected to reach over a million students, will enroll in almost 11,000 public and private schools that were authorized by DepEd to offer senior high school programs.

In a press briefing yesterday, DepEd announced the start of the weeklong Brigada Eskwela on Monday.

DepEd undersecretary for partnership and linkages Mario Deriquito called on different stakeholders to participate in the different efforts to prepare the schools for the opening of classes.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro is expected to lead the kick-off of the nationwide Brigada Eskwela in Nueva Vizcaya.

DepEd has activated the Oplan Balik Eskwela to address school opening concerns such as problems on school records, room assignment, classrooms, teachers, power and water supply, traffic, peace and order, weather condition and prices of school supplies.

A dedicated help desk that can be reached through the hotline number (02) 667-1188 was also activated to focus on senior high school concerns.

“Our goal is to ensure that we will have a smooth opening of classes, with all concerns – major and minor – promptly addressed by the department and our partner agencies from other government agencies and the private sector,” Luistro said.

DepEd marker vandalized

Meanwhile, student activists who held a campout at the DepEd main office in Pasig City vandalized the agency’s vision-mission-core values marker outside the main building.

The word “JUNK” was spray-painted by the protesters over the marker as part of their call to stop the implementation of the K-12 program.

“We maintain that the implementation of this program must be stopped at all cost. K-12 destroys the future of every Filipino youth as well as the future of the entire nation,” said League of Filipino Students national secretary-general Aries Gupit.

“We are firm in combating K-12 because from the very start, its framework is vile. The program is geared towards making the most money out of the youth and the people,” he added.

Several DepEd employees said the move was uncalled for and stressed that the agency has always been open to have a dialogue with those against the program.

“The Filipino deserves better political discourse, especially from groups who claim to be progressives,” assistant secretary Elvin Uy said in a Facebook post.