MANILA, Philippines – With new classroom designs and danger zones slowing down the rebuilding process, only about 300 of the 2,300 needed classrooms have been built one year after Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan).

As of October 15, the Department of Education (DepEd) already completed the construction of 101 new classrooms, while another 209 classrooms have been completed by DepEd partners from the private sector. 

Education Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali on Wednesday, November 5, said another 450 classrooms are still under construction, 1,711 are ongoing procurement, and 289 need validation. (READ: DepEd seeks P1B Quick Response Fund for 2015)

Despite thousands of classrooms not yet completely built, Umali said DepEd is “on track” in its rebuilding efforts since it is building disaster-resilient classrooms that can withstand intense earthquakes and strong winds.

He added that about 338 classrooms used to be located in danger zones, vulnerable to storms and prone to intense flooding.

“Hindi po talaga mahusay na pamamaraan ng pagpapatupad ng ating classroom program kung in the same schools in hazard zones, patatayuan po nating muli,” Umali said. (It’s not a good practice in our classroom program if we build schools in hazard zones.)

The department hopes to bring all students in Yolanda-hit areas back to disaster-resilient classrooms by June 2015, since many are still in temporary learning spaces. (READ: New classrooms in Yolanda-hit areas ready by end-2014)

“Wala pong lugar na hindi po nagkaklase. Lahat po sila ay bumalik na at ang ating layunin ay maibalik sila sa silid-aralan, sana po sa simula ng pasukan sa susunod na taon. It’s ongoing,” he added.

(All Yolanda-affected schools are already conducting classes, and our hope is to bring them back to the classroom, hopefully before the school year starts in 2015. It’s ongoing.) – Rappler.com

For Rappler’s full coverage of the 1st anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), go to this page.