ZAMBOANGA CITY, (PNA) — Eight of the 18 public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) will resume classes on Monday, October 7.
Classes in all levels were suspended for weeks when hundreds of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels infiltrated this city last September 9.
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Regional Director Emmylou Yanga said the consensus to resume classes was reached in a meeting last Monday with officials of HEIs coupled with clearance from the Crisis Management Committee (CMC) chaired by Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar.
Two of the eight The HEIs that will resume classes on October 7 are government-run learning institutions and these are the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) and Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College (ZCSPC).
The other six are the following: Brent Hospital and Colleges; Pilar College; Southern City Colleges; STI College-Zamboanga; Western Mindanao Foundation College Inc; and, HMIJ College International.
Yanga said the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU)-Tumaga Campus resumed classes last Monday for its Board Programs with Alternative Learning System (ALS).
The Computer Technologies Institute of Zamboanga City (Comtech) together with MEIN College Inc., Pastor Bonus Seminary and Universidad de Zamboanga resumed classes last Tuesday, while AMA Computer College-Zamboanga, Immaculate Conception Archdiocesan School (ICAS) and Nuevo Zamboanga College-Pasobolong Campus resumed classes last Wednesday.
Yanga said the government-run Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology (ZSCMST) and the Ebenezer Bible College and Seminary have no schedule yet on the resumption of classes but Alternative Learning System will be in place.
The ZSCMST is located in Barangay Rio Hondo, which is one of the areas of conflict.
Meanwhile, Yanga said they have requested the CMC to augment measures in their premises by deploying policemen or soldiers.
Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) information officer Chief Insp. Ariel Huesca said they have readied security measures to ensure the safety of the students.