NO CORONAVIRUS disease (Covid-19) cases involving students have been reported during the first four days of classes that started on Monday, August 22, 2022.
Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd 7) Director Salustiano Jimenez said on Friday, August 26, 2022, that nobody from among the 1,999,363 students enrolled in public and private elementary and secondary high schools in the region has been reported infected with the highly contagious disease.
Jimenez called on the parents to submit their children to vaccination to prevent them from contracting the disease.
The highest education official in the region revealed that 48 percent of the students that have already been inoculated are in high school and senior high, while the rest are in elementary level.
Jimenez, though, described the first four days of classes as generally peaceful and orderly.
Meanwhile, Jimenez admitted that 3,375 out of the total 4,671 public and private schools in the region are lack of classrooms.
But the education official emphasized that at least 1,000 of the classrooms that were damaged by Typhoon Odette on December 16, 2021, have already been used after undergoing repair.
"We have a thousand classrooms that need repairs due to typhoon Odette but even if we have this shortage we will still be able to open our doors in school for our learners because of the strategy that our school heads have been adopting and implementing," Jimenez said.
The DepEd 7 estimated a turnout of two million students, including late enrollees and transferees, as of August 25.
The DepEd 7 received the P1.2 billion budget for the repair of trusses, roofs and ceilings of damaged classrooms, but the project was delayed as they could not hold a public bidding for the repair works, which was banned during the election period.
The DepEd 7 also requested a P6 billion fund from their central office for the construction of new school buildings and repair of the remaining damaged classrooms.
"There are still some unfunded projects but most of these have already funds because the national government thru the DepEd downloaded to us budget for the repairs," Jimenez said. (PAC, TPT)