Angara assures students of safe, nurturing schools

MANILA, Philippines — As the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City resumed face-to-face classes yesterday, Education Secretary Sonny Angara assured the SJNHS students of a safe and nurturing environment.

In a statement, Angara said the Department of Education (DepEd) would not rush the students’ emotional recovery, following last month’s shooting that left three dead and 20 others wounded.

“Fulfilling President Marcos’s directive, our immediate priority is to wrap our learners and teachers in a blanket of security and psychosocial care, recognizing that true learning cannot genuinely resume where fear remains,” Angara said.

“By offering flexible learning pathways alongside a heavily fortified environment, we are giving our traumatized learners the grace, time and space they need to heal without being left behind academically,” he added.

The DepEd expanded its flexible learning options for students who are still heavily affected and traumatized by the shooting incident, ensuring their educational continuity without compounding their distress.

“Our schools must be sanctuaries, not places of anxiety, which is why we are systematic in our approach – combining strict infrastructure audits with compassionate learner protection,” Angara said.

The resumption of face-to-face classes at SJNHS is in line with the DepEd’s nationwide school safety campaign, which seeks to upgrade campus security and implement learner protection mechanisms across the country.

Meanwhile, the DepEd allocated an additional P10 million for the EduKahon program and distributed 100 learning kits to evacuation centers that would benefit students affected by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao on June 8.

“Every disaster disrupts not only homes but also learning. We have to restore hope to our learners. Through EduKahon, we are showing that even if they are in the evacuation centers, their education continues, their dreams continue,” Angara said.

The EduKahon contains whiteboards, pens, paper, first aid kits, laptops and other communication devices.