Dilapidated tents, few teachers welcome first day of school in Marawi’s ‘Tent City’

The first day of classes at Sarimanok Tent City, an evacuation site situated inside Marawi City, was greeted by dilapidated makeshift classrooms and only a handful of teachers on Monday.

According to a report by Marisol Abdurahman on GMA News TV's Balitanghali, some laundry was seen hung and motorcycles were parked inside the tents which used to be alternative learning spaces for the internally displaced children.

Despite the lack of school supplies, some students still showed up early.

They, however, decided to go home as few teachers only arrived around 8 a.m.

Authorities said the temporary schools were not in that condition before the summer break and that these had actually undergone Brigada Eskwela too.

Department of Education Operation Center Supervisor Jasmin Macud also said that the teachers were briefed on Sunday about the scheduled opening of classes on Monday that's why they are clueless about the late and sudden no-show of some teachers.

She added that the concerned principals will be summoned about the absence of s this week.

The number of enrollees at the temporary shelter site has been slashed to half of the previous school year's 200.

Meanwhile, registration of the students in another temporary shelter site in Barangay Sagonsongan is ongoing.

Twenty-four out of the 96 barangays in Marawi City were devastated by the deadly clash between the government forces and the ISIS-inspired Maute group which began on May 23, 2017 and ended five months later.

Two years later, over 400 displaced families are still staying in three evacuation centers while 11,000 others were classified as home-based or currently staying with their relatives elsewhere inside and outside Marawi City, according to the Task Force Bangon Marawi.  — Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News