MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) is calling on the public, particularly those living in areas affected by the February 10 earthquake, to report the condition of schools in their area.
The crowdsourcing campaign, dubbed #SchoolPatrolPH, is meant to provide education officials with a quick snapshot of school buildings damaged due to the magnitude 6.7 earthquake. (READ: Aftershocks rock Surigao days after strong quake)
The public can send photos and post status updates on their Facebook and Twitter accounts using the hashtag #SchoolPatrolPH. The posts should be set to public.
Reports can also be sent via SMS to 2929 for Smart and Talk N' Text subscribers.
Text Format:<Name>, <Location>, <Name of School>, <School address>, <Condition of school building> #SchoolPatrolPH
Sample Text:Juan de la Cruz, Mainit, Surigao del Norte, Mainit Elementary School, 23 Rizal St. Mainit, One collapsed wall in high school, 4 shattered windows, all teachers and students safe #SchoolPatrolPH
Rappler's Agos platform will map all #SchoolPatrolPH reports on agos.rappler.com and relay the information to the authorities.
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School principals are also required to send flash reports to their district superintendents and to the DepEd central office. The DepEd's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) is gathering all reports.
The DepEd is also calling on volunteer civil engineers or structural engineers in quake-hit areas to assess the school buildings in their area and to give a report to the school principal or local government official.
Volunteers can sign up using the Agos-eBayanihan volunteer management platform.
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Education Secretary Leonor Briones accompanied President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday, February 12, to assess the damage from the earthquake. Initial reports peg the damage to school buildings at P7.6 million.
The DepEd said standby funds are available to set up temporary learning spaces and to clean up classrooms.
UNICEF has also prepared learning and teaching kits for schools in need. –Rappler.com