The government is hiring 10,000 new public school teachers and has started the construction of 80,000 more classrooms, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said Monday, a week before the classes resume.
LOOK: Ready for school opening
The move is in line with the government’s plan to reduce the size of classes to 45 students in the grade school level and 25 students in the kindergarten level, Briones told DZMM radio.
Around 120,000 policemen will be deployed to ensure peace and order during the opening of classes on June 3, Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said Monday.
“We have fielded a 120,000-strong police force to implement public safety and to intensify security and police operations in responding to peace and order concerns in both public and private learning institutions with the support of the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education,” Albayalde told reporters.
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He said police patrols would be deployed near the schools to check for drug traffickers, muggers or violent street gangs who might “infiltrate the ranks of students.”
The Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the National Capital Region Police Office, together with local government units, will implement traffic management operations within the vicinity of schools, especially along University Belt in Manila City.
The Education department had previously said it was expecting around 28 million students to return to school during the opening of classes.
