SCHOOL OPENING. The Department of Education in Western Visayas has established a help desk to look into the concerns and provide actions in line with the opening of classes on Aug. 22. DepEd regional information officer Hernani Escullar Jr. in a phone interview on Tuesday (Aug. 16, 2022 said for this school year there is a need for 16,494 new classrooms.(Photo courtesy of DepEd Region 6) ILOILO CITY - Western Visayas needs 16,494 new classrooms for this school year, according to the record of the regional engineer and data from schools division offices as contained in their Basic Education Learning Continuity and Recovery Plan (BELCRP). "There are divisions that do not need new classrooms. Most of those in need are those that were affected or damaged by the past typhoons and calamities. Our affected divisions are in coordination with the regional and office and government agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction," DepEd regional information officer Hernani Escullar Jr. said in a phone interview on Tuesday. Of the required new classrooms, 508 are in the province of Aklan; 737 in Antique; 462, Bacolod City; 5,073, Capiz; 381, Iloilo province; and 9,333 in Negros Occidental. Apart from new classrooms, there were 13,941 that needed minor repairs, 14,464 for major repairs, and 811 for replacement or reconstruction. Those needing replacement are considered "unfit for classes" or no longer safe for learners, Escullar said. "Those needing major and minor repairs can still be used. Some could have been addressed already through the Brigada Eskwela that started on Aug. 1," he added. Escullar said not all schools in the region would immediately be implementing the full in-person classes on Aug. 22 since the transition period is until Oct. 31. Of the 3,220 public elementary schools in the region, 722 will be offering five-day in-person classes during the transition period, 2,284 will be on blended learning, and 214 opted for full distance learning. Of the 190 integrated schools, 37 will implement the full swing face-to-face classes, 150 for blended and three will offer full distance learning. Among the 635 public secondary schools, 99 will have five-day in-person classes, 517 for blended and 19 for full distance learning. "Based on the numbers, most of the schools opted for a blended learning modality in the meantime. So not all learners will be going back to school right there and then on Aug. 22. Come Nov. 2, all public and private will already be on five-day in-person classes," he added. As of 8:30 a.m. of Tuesday, the DepEd quick count registration system has registered 1,616,399 enrollees; 1,464,886 are in public schools, 148,321 in private schools, and 3,192 in local universities and colleges and state universities and colleges. "This number will still increase because we still have five days for our enrollment. Aug. 22 is the deadline for our enrollment," he added. He said as preparations for the school opening, they have already established their Oplan Balik Eskwela Help Desk at the regional office that would look into the concerns for proper action. (PNA) }