Education Secretary Leonor Briones welcomed over 27 million learners in both public and private schools as school year 2019-2020 opened yesterday and assured them that the Department of Education will continue to increase its efforts to deliver quality, accessible, relevant, and liberating basic education.
DepEd officials led by Briones attended the flag-raising ceremony at the Signal Village National High School on Ballecer St., Central Signal, Taguig City. The SVNHS has around 9,000 enrollees in the new school year.
The school is also where the city government’s seven-story, fully airconditioned 21-classroom building with elevator and roof deck is located. It also houses a MacLaboratory and a Hope Center, among other facilities.
During her visit to SVNHS, Briones urged students to utilize all the education services offered to them. In a class of Grade 8 learners, she underscored the efforts of the department in various fields – particularly in Science and Technology.
She also urged them to “follow your dreams” and stressed the importance of schools strengthening the inculcation of values as well as nationalism among learners.
In her welcome message for the opening of school year 2019-2020, Briones reminded learners to “bear in mind that it took the whole community – parents, teachers, local government units, national government agencies, non-government organizations, partners from the public and private sectors, and other stakeholders – to prepare you on this journey” through the “Brigada Eskwela” which was held a week before the opening of classes.
“They all contributed their time, effort, and resources to provide you with a safe and motivating learning environment,” she said.
Aside from the annual schools maintenance week, Briones also highlighted the “Oplan: Balik Eskwela” which gathered DepEd’s “allies to provide you access to fairly priced commodities, safer streets and roads, and adequate water and electricity supply, among many of your other needs.”
The command centers and hotlines nationwide, she added, are open since May 27 to June 7 “to serve you and ensure a smooth opening of classes.”
“Given our continuously increasing population and the challenges that we have to hurdle, we are likewise increasing our efforts to deliver quality, accessible, relevant, and liberating basic education,” Briones said. (Ina Malipot)
