QUEZON City has opened its door to displaced students from war-torn Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.
Mayor Herbert Bautista said 78 students displaced from the ongoing armed conflict in several parts of Mindanao have been accommodated in different public schools. Student-transferees from Marawi will still be accepted until June 30, he said.
Of the total student-transferees, 73 were from Marawi City, while five came from different parts of Lanao del Sur, Quezon City schools superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Quesada said.
Based on a report submitted to Bautista, majority of the transferees were accommodated in the public elementary and high schools in Districts 5 and 6, which host majority of the city’s Muslim communities, including Novaliches and Culiat.
The Culiat Elementary School and Culiat High School in District 5 have the most number of enrolled student-transferees.
According to city schools’ division special program supervisor Nimfa Gabertan, Quezon City public schools are still open to accept displaced learners from Marawi and other conflict areas in Mindanao until the end of June.
“We do not see any problem to accept transferees since we have enough classrooms,” she said.
Based on the instruction of Education Secretary Leonor Briones, the division of city schools has temporarily relaxed the requirements for admission for the Marawi enrollees.
“Asatidz,” the Arabic word for teacher, have already been providing madrasah classes to the displaced students, Gabertan said.
“Because of the language barrier, we need the help of the asatidz,” she added.