7M learners affected by Taal eruption

Over 7 million learners in four regions have been affected by the Taal volcano eruption, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).

A total of 7,094,165 learners in 7,542 schools across 57 divisions in the National Capital Region (NCR), Region III, Region IV-A, and Region IV-B were impacted since classes were suspended on Monday.

Region III has the most number of affected school divisions with 20, followed by Region IV-A with 19, NCR with 16, and Region IV-B with two.

As of January 15, 7,187 families or 34,199 individuals are housed in 992 classrooms serving as evacuation centers.

DepEd provided masks, water, biscuits, toiletries, and medical assistance to affected learners and families, and deployed Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) coordinators to assess the impact on schools and learners.

DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua urged the public to help identify affected schools by posting photos with the hashtag #SchoolPatrolPH.