Schools were not spared from the wrath of Typhoon “Odette” which destroyed at least 1,997 classrooms across the province and left a still undetermined amount of damages to properties of the Department of Education (DepEd).

According to Desiderio Deligero, chief of DepEd Bohol’s School Governance and Operations Division, 363 of the province’s classrooms were totally damaged when the storm pummeled Bohol on December 16.

“Totally damage gyud, meaning to say wa na gyud ni, di na magamit kay nangatumbahan og lubi, unya nangalupad gyud ang atop,” said Deligero.

Some 851 and 783 classrooms incurred major and minor damages, respectively.

The figures were still based on partial data and could still rise in the forthcoming days.

 “Paghuman gyud sa atong bagyo nag dispatch ta sa atong mga engineers unya duna pud tay team sa atong disaster risk reduction management sa kada lungsod, dunay atong rapid assessment kay nangayo pud atong central office,” said Deligero.

Deligero added that they have requested for the suspension of classes or distribution of modules in severely damaged schools.

Although classes are still done online, he said some schools have not been able to distribute modules to their students as the learning materials were flooded due to the storm.

“Duna gyuy mga school heads, mga principals nato nga ni-request na e-suspend ang sa lang for the meantime tong distribution sa mga modules kay nangadaot labina na tong flooded areas,” he added.

DepEd Bohol has yet to receive a reply from their head office regarding the request for suspension, but some severely damaged schools were already given special considerations by local agency officials allowing them to postpone the distribution of modules. (R. Tutas)