MANILA, Philippines — The Pikit National High School in North Cotabato has reported a “dramatic decline” in class attendance following a shooting incident that left a student dead and two others wounded.
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, who visited the school on Monday, was told by principal Abdulkadir Buda that class attendance dropped to 65 percent.
A 13-year-old student was killed in a gun attack outside the school on Feb. 14.
A 15-year-old student of the Notre Dame of Pikit was also gunned down on Feb. 17.
Duterte said school officials should implement alternative mode or remote learning for students who are scared of going to school.
“Our job is to ensure that those who are afraid will be able to continue their education at home. You have to find them and tell them that they can study through alternative delivery modes,” she said.
Duterte also visited the Pikit Central Elementary School and Sultan Kudarat State University (SKSU), where she met with students, teachers and school officials.
“Together, let us rebuild our conflict-affected communities with the values of peace, mutual trust and conflict transformation that will empower us to achieve our shared goals for sustainable development and inclusive socioeconomic advancement,” she said during a student leaders assembly at SKSU.
Duterte said many students in Mindanao have ”suffered the misfortune of chronically interrupted learning progress because of violence.”