Philippines: Disaster risk reduction soon to be taught in public secondary schools, colleges
Philippines Information Agency press release by Aurora J. Casimpan
Tacloban City, Leyte - Education is still the best preparation against adversity even if the enemy is a natural calamity like typhoons which create havoc because of the resulting landslides and flood.
Since natural calamities are unpreventable the best government can do is to reduce its disastrous effect through knowledge on disaster preparedness.
The provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte and Eastern Samar in Eastern Visayas are the provinces specifically at high risk of natural calamities like landslide and flooding as the said provinces are located in the eastern seaboard of the country.
As a preventive measure against disaster the Department of Education (DepEd), the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) have mandates to concretize disaster preparedness by integrating disaster reduction and management education in the curricula of the public secondary and tertiary schools.
The soon to be integrated disaster risk reduction education is outlined under Republic Act 10121 otherwise known as the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
Rey Gozon, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense and chair of the Regional Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) explained that the inclusion of education on risk reduction is aimed at reducing casualties among juveniles during the disasters in the region.
It is during calamities that children are most vulnerable. Disasters in the region for this year claimed the lives of 15 children due to landslide, flooding and other natural calamities.
It was learned that some schools in Eastern Visayas have started adopting introductory courses and modules on disaster risk reduction at the start of classes this year. The RDRRMC tied up with the DepEd in the conduct of a training and seminar for teachers expected to handle the subject.
Some schools in Leyte have already included disaster risk reduction in their Earth Science subject even if the subject have yet to be formally ironed out between the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) and the DepEd. Samar and Southern Leyte will soon integrate the subject within this year.
The subject will also be taught in the National Service Training Program (NSTP) for tertiary schools, technical-vocational, indigenous learning and in out of school youth courses. (PIA-8)