At least 34 students who escaped from war-torn Marawi City have been enrolled in different public schools in Manila, Mayor Joseph Estrada confirmed on Friday.
Estrada said this number may still grow because of the extended enrollment period, but he assured that Manila public schools are ready to accommodate more displaced schoolchildren not only from Marawi but also from other conflict areas in Mindanao.
“I have advised our teachers and principals to give the best that they can offer to these displaced students,” Estrada said. “In whatever armed conflict, these children are often the most affected and vulnerable, so we have to help them.”
Citing reports from the Division of City Schools-Manila, Estrada said 34 Marawi children have been accepted in various public high schools and elementary schools as classes resumed Monday, June 5.
The City of Manila has 33 public high schools and 73 elementary schools across the city’s six districts.
Manila Schools Superintendent and Department of Education-National Capital Region officer-in-charge Wilfredo Cabral said public schools in the city can still accommodate “a hundred more” transferees.
“Our schools have not yet reached their maximum absorptive capacity, meaning to say, we can accommodate, especially displaced children from Marawi,” Cabral pointed out.
As instructed by Education Secretary Leonor Briones, Cabral said DepEd-NCR has temporarily relaxed its documentary requirements for the Marawi enrollees until the end of the month.
He assured that the city government and DepEd are doing everything they can to assist these affected students and their families given the experience they had.
The Marawi students are currently undergoing evaluation and psychological assessment.
“The reason why we’re identifying them is that we would like to know their psychological and mental state so we could find out what kind of assistance we can give to them,” Cabral explained.
“We don’t know yet if they were caught in crossfire or they have managed to leave Marawi before the hostilities started. We still have to assess them,” he added.
The DepEd official said the most these students need is counseling to help them adjust to their new environment.
In a press briefing last Monday at the President Corazon Aquino High School in Baseco Compound, Manila, Briones said some 20,000 school-age children were displaced from Marawi due to the ongoing armed conflict between government troops and members of the terrorist Maute group.
She added 1,391 students from Marawi have enrolled in other public schools, mostly in the nearby cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, and even in Quezon City and Manila.