Only 200 security guards man 48,000 public schools

With only 200 security guards for 48,000 public schools nationwide, Education Secretary Sonny Angara yesterday said he would ask the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for funding to enable the hiring of additional security guards.

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In an interview at the Alfonso Castañeda National High School in Nueva Vizcaya, Angara admitted there is a shortage of security guards at public schools.

“We need funds for our security guards, that is the most important. Before I assumed the position (as Department of Education secretary), there had been a rationalization, so security guards were removed and only 200 were retained. We have 48,000 schools and some schools need more than just one security guard,” he said.

In a statement, the DepEd chief said many local government units (LGUs) and private sector partners have already contributed to the acquisition of closed-circuit television units and other equipment to beef up security in schools.

This was in response to the DepEd's urgent call for a nationwide School Safety Campaign that involved tighter screening, comprehensive safety audits and psychosocial support mechanisms following recent incidents of campus violence.

In Region 8, following a recent campus shooting in Tacloban City, the Tacloban Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Inc. pledged to donate 20 metal detectors to the Tacloban City Schools Division Office.

Maasin City SDO reported that its LGU passed a resolution to purchase metal detectors for its high schools and large campuses.

Meanwhile, its parent-teacher associations (PTAs) donated one metal detector to Cabadiangan Elementary School and three metal detectors and four CCTV cameras to Maasin Central School.