This, as public elementary and secondary schools around the country are set to reopen next week.
On Tuesday, June 2, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. inspected the Brigada Eskwela activity at the Kapitbahayan Elementary School in Navotas City.
During which, Marcos was accompanied by Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
They checked the fully-activated campus where volunteers, teachers, and parents were preparing for the opening of classes next Monday, June 8.
The President personally inspected the school’s newly-operational closed-circuit television (CCTV) network, which is part of DepEd’s broader campus security framework designed to address challenges such as bullying, vandalism, and unauthorized entry.
Marcos, in his speech, then thanked everyone who volunteered to help in the preparations.
“Kaya nagpapasalamat kami sa kanilang lahat. At malaking bagay ang ginagawa nila para tulungan ang ating mga administrator, ang mga teacher, para makapaghanda para sa pasukan,” he said, adding that the government had allocated funds for the preparation of public schools.
According to him, the strengthened partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program has benefitted 147 schools and 3,658 beneficiaries using the PHP26.12 million budget allotment.
“Pinapatupad ngayon – mayroon pang 181 na paaralan tutulungan; 4,597 ang benepisyaryo ng TUPAD; at may nakalaang P37.14 million para diyan sa programang ‘yan,” the President said.
The school has also established new child-friendly reading spaces under DepEd’s Reading Nooks initiative, which aims to address early-grade reading gaps for Kindergarten and Grade 3 learners through age-appropriate materials and leveled storybooks.
The President also personally led an interactive storytelling session with young learners inside the Reading Nook to promote the government’s foundational literacy drive, where he read the story “Ang Matsing at Ang Pagong,” before distributing stuffed toys to the young students after the reading.
The DSWD also showcased the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program, which is aligned with DepEd’s foundational literacy campaigns by utilizing college student tutors to provide remedial reading sessions to struggling elementary school learners.
According to DepEd, 823 learners began the previous school year under the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program, with no learners remaining at struggling levels in reading and mathematics, and no ARAL summer program was required by the end of the year.
Furthermore, the department also reported that the number of struggling learners across the country went down from 6.7 million to 2.2 million.
For Angara, he lauded the tie-up with DOLE for TUPAD program, which deployed 240,000 workers nationwide for the week-long Brigada Eskwela that will last until Friday, June 5.