Filipino Teachers Seek Dedicated Evacuation Centres to Protect Class Time

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Filipino teachers have encouraged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to establish separate evacuation zones throughout the country to avoid schools being utilised as refuge during floods, typhoons, and other disasters.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) stated that using schools as evacuation centres disrupts classes and contributes to student learning gaps. ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo stated that the government should provide adequate funding for more classrooms and infrastructure, as well as fully equipped evacuation centers in every city and province.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara also urged Marcos to create dedicated emergency shelters. During an examination of Santolan Elementary School, which took in residents evacuated from monsoon flooding, Angara warned that frequent disruptions could exacerbate long-term learning losses.

‘Learning loss does not just go away,’ Angara explained, pointing out that it accumulates over time. He stated that weather-related interruptions lately impacted more than 40,000 schools across multiple locations, accounting for around one-fifth of the entire number.

Teachers have also expressed worries about flood-related damage to school infrastructure and questioned the efficacy of government flood-control projects.

The proposal for dedicated evacuation centres comes as education funding is under threat. According to the research, the projected national budget for 2027 would lower the existing P1.2685 trillion education budget by P68.5 billion, or 5.3 percent.

According to officials and teachers, removing evacuation facilities from schools would help protect instructional time and allow students to return to class more promptly after disasters.