CDO, Iligan public schools to accept Marawi students

MANILA, Philippines -  Public schools in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro are expecting an influx of students from Marawi City.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones said there are around 5,000 school-aged children staying in evacuation centers in Iligan City, and they expect the number to increase as they continue to track down those who fled the clashes between government troops and Maute militants.

“We are making all possible adjustments so that it would be easy to integrate the children in the school systems,” Briones told a press conference yesterday. “We are not turning away anyone, especially children of families that evacuated from Marawi.”

Briones said they would allow the affected students to enroll even without the necessary documents.

She said local officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) are working to address issues that may arise, such as congestion in classrooms and lack of teachers.Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao promised to help in the deployment of teachers who speak Maranao to address the language barrier, she said.

DepEd suspended the June 5 opening of classes in Marawi City and eight barangays in Lanao del Sur for at least two weeks.

Briones said they are confident the clashes would soon end, but noted that they would need a few days to check the condition of the schools.

Zones of peace

Briones said schools are zones of peace and should not be used as battlegrounds.  “They should not be used for negotiations… The schools are neutral places,” she said.

Briones also appealed to concerned local government units to facilitate the transfer of evacuees to schools in Iligan City.

“Education should go on… We cannot stop the learning process because of this episode in our history,” she said.