SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) – The start of the school year in Ilocos Region has been disrupted by the aftermath of Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon.
A total of 231 public schools in the region will be unable to open their doors to students on the scheduled July 29 start date.
Ilocos Sur is the hardest-hit province, with 157 schools affected.
La Union follows with 61, while Dagupan City (five), Pangasinan I (seven), and Laoag City (one) have a combined 13 schools delaying their opening.
A complete list of affected schools is available on Education Secretary Sonny Angara’s Facebook page.
DepEd Region 1 Director Tolentino Aquino emphasized the priority of student and personnel safety.
“While we would want all our schools to open the school year on July 29, we do not want to compromise the safety of our learners and our personnel. We took the guidance from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara, and the Executive Committee members to open the schools only when they are ready,” Tolentino said.
Despite the challenges, the remaining 2,630 schools in the region are prepared to welcome students on Monday, July 29.
These schools, including nine school divisions, namely Alaminos City, Batac City, Candon City, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan II, San Carlos City, San Fernando City, Urdaneta City, and Vigan City, benefited from the extended Brigada Eskwela, which concluded on July 27.
“We express our appreciation to all our stakeholders who helped in the preparation of the schools through our extended Brigada Eskwela. We also thank our local chief executives and local government units for their support of our school opening efforts,” Aquino added.
As of July 26, a total of 894,076 learners had enrolled in public schools across the region.
DepEd is currently conducting a comprehensive assessment of the damage incurred by the affected schools. (AMB/PIA Region 1)
