More than half of public schools in the province are ill-equipped in terms of emergency devices needed in times of disasters such as earthquakes and fires, a Department of Education (DepEd) official said.

Marcelo Vigonte, DepEd Bohol disaster risk reduction coordinator, told DYRD Balita that around 1000 public schools do not have adequate emergency equipment such as fire extinguishers and alarm bells.

Vigonte said they have been urging public school officials to acquire units of the said emergency devices and implementing measures to prepare students for calamities.

As part of the initiative, DepEd has been organizing earthquake and fire drills to boost preparedness, Vigonte added.

Recently, the department’s office in Bohol and public school students took part in the school year’s third simultaneous earthquake drill.

However, Vigonte said that many of the students did not take the drill seriously despite following the instructions for the activity.

Officials of DepEd are planning to conduct an earthquake drill each quarter to better prepare students and teachers for disasters. (Rey Tutas)

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