Philippines installs CCTV at schools to prevent bullying

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (Wikimedia Commons - Rey Baniquet for Presidential Communications Operations Office) 

JAKARTA - The Philippine government has started to tighten school security ahead of the new school year on June 8. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Education Minister Sonny Angara reviewed the newly installed CCTV network at Kapitbahayan Elementary School, Navotas City, Tuesday.

Launching the Philippine News Agency (PNA), Tuesday, June 2, the installation of surveillance cameras is part of the Department of Education's (DepEd) security program. The goal is to prevent bullying, vandalism, and outsiders from entering the school without permission.

Angara said a safe school makes it easier for students to focus on learning.

"When schools are safe because of CCTV, children can focus more on learning," said Angara.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara review the readiness of schools, including CCTV networks, during the launch of Brigada Eskwela in Navotas City. (Photo: PNA)

Apart from security, the Philippine government is also encouraging literacy. At the school, Marcos and Angara reviewed the Reading Nook, a small reading room filled with age-appropriate books for kindergarten students to grade 3 elementary school.

This program is connected to Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program, which deploys students to guide elementary school students who still have difficulty reading.

According to school data, 823 students who participated in the ARAL program at the beginning of the previous school year managed to get out of the category of difficulty in reading and mathematics at the end of the learning period.

PNA reported that the ARAL Program nationwide has reduced the number of students who still have difficulty learning from 6.7 million to 2.2 million.

The visit also opened Brigada Eskwela, an annual get-together to clean and repair schools before the school year begins. Volunteers, teachers, parents, and workers are involved.

Angara said that the improvement of classrooms was helped by the TUPAD program from the Department of Labor and Employment. The program deployed around 240,000 workers for Brigada Eskwela nationwide.

The Minister of Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines Rex Gatchalian also accompanied the visit.

Marcos was also shown a historic school building built during the reign of his father, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. He also saw another building donated during the time of his mother, former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos, through the National Housing Authority.

The visit also highlighted the improvement of classrooms through Brigada Eskwela, which this year was assisted by around 240,000 TUPAD program workers nationwide.