The Cordillera office of the Department of Education (DepEd-CAR) disclosed that the conduct of the week-long Brigada Eskwela in the various schools in the region will no longer be subjected to competition because it defeats the very purpose of voluntarism among the concerned stakeholders.
DepEd-CAR regional director Dr. Estela L. Carino pointed out that the conduct of the Brigada Eskwela is purposely to mobilize the people in the community to share their time, effort and resources voluntarily to help in improving the learning condition of the learners right at the start of the school year and not to make cleanliness in schools as a competition.
She explained that the week-long Brigada Eskwela will be done in the schools by the concerned stakeholders during the start of classes scheduled on August 29, 2023 for the school year 2023-2024 where there will be no solicitations and mandatory contributions that will be required from the parents and other supporters to avoid issues and concerns that may transpire in the course of the implementation of the said program.
However, the education official clarified that the schools can post in their social media pages the materials needed in the implementation of the Brigada Eskwela and it will be up to the interested supporters to provide the same but there should be no written solicitation to identified individuals that will be circulated for the said purpose.
According to her, schools in urban centers like Baguio City and La Trinidad enjoy the advantage over other schools in rural areas in terms of the support that they will get from donors because of the vibrance of economic activities that is why the department was compelled to scrap the competition among schools in the implementation of the said program.
Carino emphasized that what is important is for the students to have a safe and conducive learning environment after the conduct of the Brigada Eskwela for them to be able to concentrate in their studies instead of being unduly distracted by the presence of unnecessary distractions in their classrooms and the school compound.
She urged parents, guardians and community members who have time to help in the implementation of the Brigada Eskwela in the school nearest to them so that learners will be able to fully attend to their classes once the school year will open by the last week of this month.
The education department, according to her, is now focused in the ongoing preparations for the resumption of classes before the end of the month but there is still a need for the parents and guardians to help in ensuring that the classrooms and the schools of their children will be ready to cater to the learners.
Carino disclosed that the non-academic, non-teaching and teaching personnel of the various schools in the different parts of the region are ready in time for the programmed opening of classes for the upcoming school year that is why the learners are expected to be on the learning mood once classes will resume as earlier scheduled so that there will be no unnecessary delays and disruption in the school calendar for the school year.
The Cordillera is one of the regions that started early preparations for the upcoming school year after the end of classes last month that is why there will be no questions on the readiness of schools by the end of this month.
