Calumpit school ready for first day of classes with some areas still flooded

For weeks, teachers and parents have been hard at work cleaning the flooded classrooms and hallways of Doña Damiana De Leon Macam Memorial Elementary School in Calumpit, Bulacan in the wake of recent typhoons including Egay and Dodong.

On Monday, the eve of the start of classes, six classrooms are still flooded, as well as the front of the school. However, school authorities said the children will not have to wade through the floodwaters—even if they have to attend some of their classes on the stage of the school gym.

Furthermore, the children's classes will be on a shift basis, with their school hours cut from six hours to four.

"Pipilitin naming mahabol 'yung mga lessons na hindi namin na-tackle sa pagbabalik ng regular classes," said Violeta Oronce in Sandra Aguinaldo's report on "24 Oras" on Monday.

"Katulad po niyan may padating pa po tayong bagyo kaya hindi kami umaasa na by September ay tuyo," she said of the school. "Aabutin pa ito siguro ng October hanggang November, depende po sa panahon."

The school has had to discard textbooks and modules that have been damaged beyond use by the flood, but the Department of Education said there would be stocks to replace these.

At San Miguel Meysulao High School, also in Calumpit, the floods are gone and the classrooms are dry, with one youth seen painting the walls of a classroom a fresh yellow. 

However, teacher Almira Cunanan says the floods could still come back, inundating their newly cleaned school.

"Sanay na po kami dahil every year naman nagkakaganoon," she said. "Pagka dumating yung mga bagyo na nagkakaroon ng cancellation of classes, 'yung mga baha na 'yan, nagshi-shift po kami ng module at online classes para yung learning ng mga bata hindi naantala."

DepEd has said that modules may already be distributed at the start of the school year, so that students and teachers will have an easier time shifting to online classes in case of inclement weather. — BM, GMA Integrated News