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To ensure a smooth school opening, DepEd will activate its annual Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE) from June 9 to 13.

- — Bella Cariaso, Emmanuel Tupas

The initiative includes Brigada Eskwela, a cleanup and repair drive involving public and private sector volunteers.

President Marcos is set to lead the kickoff of Brigada Eskwela tomorrow at a school in Bulacan.

Aside from general maintenance, DepEd is also addressing the lack of classroom furniture. Damaged chairs and tables will be repaired, while procurement for additional supplies is ongoing.

The department is also ramping up efforts to resolve long-standing issues in public school infrastructure.

"We partnered with the public sector through Public Private Partnership (PPP), an initiative of our (Education) Secretary (Sonny Angara) and we will be able to build 105,000 new classrooms. We will accelerate it through the early procurement activities. We will push this through constant coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)," Andaya said.