Classes resume in 12 Marawi public schools

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines — Classes have resumed in 12 public schools in Marawi City located in barangays that government forces have cleared from Maute terrorists.

John Magno, regional secretary of the Department of Education-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said Wednesday that teachers started holding classes there Tuesday in coordination with the office of Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra and the provincial government of Lanao del Sur.

The Sultan Conding, Sikap, Cabingan, Banga, Datu Tambak, Rorogagus, Bito, Pendolonan, Abdulazis, Camp Bagong Amai Pakpak, Sugod and Mipaga elementary schools failed to open last June due to the trouble instigated by Maute and Abu Sayyaf gunmen.

“We are grateful to officials in Marawi and in Lanao del Sur and to the Western Mindanao Command for cooperating in the restoration of law and order in the areas where these 12 schools are located,” Magno said.

Ana Zenaida Unte, DepEd-ARMM’s assistant superintendent for Marawi schools, said they need to adjust the teaching programs in the 12 schools to ensure the completion of the 182 days of classes for school year 2017 to 2018.

“Innovations need to be done like holding classes even during the forthcoming summer months,” Unte said.

Unte said the Marawi schools division office is thankful to the Task Force Marawi, the Wesmincom and the Lanao del Sur provincial police for approving their request to reopen the 12 schools.

“These school are located in `cleared areas’ so there is no reason for us not to reopen this campuses,” Unte said.

Officials have earlier facilitated the resumption of classes in the Mindanao State University in Marawi City, the largest government school in southern Philippines.

Elementary pupils walk through a deserted street on their way to one of 12 schools in Marawi City that reopened on Tuesday. Philstar.com/John Unson

Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, senior information staff of Wesmincom, said the campuses of the 12 public schools that reopened last Tuesday are being monitored closely by the military with the help of principals.

The Maute terror group is rabidly opposed to the operation of regular public schools in Marawi City and in Lanao del Sur for being under a government dominated by Christian leaders and appointed executives they call “kuffar,” or non-believers.

The founders of the Maute terror group, siblings Omar and Abdullah Maute, are known for their habit of slandering Muslim clerics and education officials who does not agree with their extreme religious practices.

The Islamic Darul Iftah, also known as the House of Opinions, in different southern regions already declared as “haram,” which means forbidden in Arabic, the activities of the Maute terror group which operates in the fashion of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.