Months after plane crashes into school, students attend classes in church

MANILA, Philippines - Six months after a light plane crashed into the F. Serrano Elementary School in Parañaque, more than 3,000 students are still attending classes at a nearby church and a covered basketball court.

The teachers used blackboards to divide the court into 15 sections and the function hall of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians into 10 sections to give the students a “classroom feel,” according to school principal Sali Morit.

The school’s four-story building, with its 60 classrooms, burned down when a light plane crashed in Better Living Subdivision in Barangay Don Bosco and killed 14 people in December 2011.

Morit said the crash forced them to hold classes at the church grounds since January.

She said the local government initially told them that the reconstruction will be completed after six months. However, of the 60 classrooms, only 30 are ready for use in August.

“That is the assurance they gave us. That is also the assurance I gave the parents so the students will not drop out. So we are hoping that we can go back there by the end of July,” Morit said.

She said she fears that “if the classrooms are not yet ready by August, we will be forced to find new venues to hold classes because we are only allowed to use the church facilities until July 31. This will cause dropouts.”

The school has three shifts: from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. A “classroom” measuring five square meters has to hold 45 to 51 students during each shift, and the space is so limited that plastic chairs used by the students are placed too near each other, Morit said.

“The challenge is to keep the students from being distracted by the noise coming from other classroom since there are no walls to separate us from them,” said Grade 2 teacher Marietta Quinay.

She said teachers had to agree that they will lessen oral recitation or group activities that will create noise to avoid disrupting each other’s classes.

Morit said they had to subtract one hour from each shift just to accommodate all the students. They also had to limit recess time to 10 minutes. “I told them we’ll catch up when we transfer” to the new schoolbuilding, she said, adding that they may hold Saturday classes as well.

Morit said they do not have an office to use while in the church, and their teaching materials had to be placed in a government van during school hours. They do not have a canteen and the teachers had to bring the food for the students, she said.

There were no electric fans nor were there tents to catch the rainwater. “If the rainwater gets in, we will be forced to move all the students in the middle of gym. I’ve already reminded the barangay about it and they said the tents will be installed soon,” Morit said.