ZAMBOANGA CITY, (PNA) — The Crisis Management Committee (CMC) is studying the possibility to resume classes in barangays far from the “areas of concerns” as the standoff continues.
This, as the government forces continue to pounced on the remaining Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebel-infiltrators in the adjoining barangays of Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara and Rio Hondo.
Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, who chairs the CMC, said she and Secretaries Armin Luistro of Education as well as Corazon Soliman of Social Welfare have already met “to tackle the important issue of when and how to resume classes in this city.”
Salazar said the resumption of classes will likewise depend on the go-signal of the military and police authorities “to ensure that it is safe for our children to go back to school.”
“It is very unfortunate that our children—our city’s future—are one of the sectors most hard hit by the crisis,” Salazar said.
“Mechanisms are now being set to help the students—particularly those directly affected by the conflict numbering some 12,000—avail of the so-called Alternative Delivery Mode and the so-called Distant Learning Mode for students who became hostage victims,” she added.
Meanwhile, Soliman said the Alternative Learning System (ALS) will start next week.
The ALS is an informal mode of learning that can be used when formal education is not possible especially in times of crisis.
“For the classes, we shall keep you posted over the weekend for the announcement as soon as we get information from our ground commanders,” Salazar added.