BAGUIO CITY — The Department of Education in the Cordillera region is coming up with measures to address overcrowding in public school classrooms and according to its director Dr. Estela Cariño the measures include shifting, splitting of classrooms, and removal of some pieces of furniture and fixtures.

"We first went to Baguio City. They have three — Rizal (National High School), Roxas (National High School), and Kias (National High School and Elementary School)," Cariño said.

At the Roxas National High School, senior high school classes are implementing blended learning with 65 enrollees in a class, hence the need to split it, while the school's Grade 7 to 10 learners are now having full face-to-face classes.

Learners at the Rizal National High School have a class size of 50 to 60 learners per classroom.

"Upon my assessment, what we can do is to prioritize Grade 7 in the full face-to-face," Cariño said, explaining that they have not been in school for two years, having finished their last two years in elementary doing the modular system.

This, she said, makes them the priority to have full face-to-face classes.

Cariño said they hope to start with the full face-to-face classes for Grade 7 learners by next week.

In Kias National High School and Elementary School, however, the solution is to remove a room's contents, which will be done with the help of the Parent Teachers Association and the village officials, she said, adding that they hope to implement full face-to-face classes at the elementary school on 15 November.

Cariño said other issues found during their visit on 2 November are two shifts at Kias Elementary School, which poses safety risks among the learners who are in elementary and who are dismissed at 5 p.m.

"They are having transportation problems aside from safety due to the darkness of the surroundings at the time they go home," she said.

Cariño said they opted to divide the classroom instead as a solution in Kias Elementary School and stressed that a full face-to-face for all levels would mean an overload in tasks for teachers, which may result in more problems.

"We instructed the division superintendent of Baguio to raise the possibility of the School Board hiring additional teachers," Cariño said.

She also cited the damage caused by the recent earthquake and the onslaught of severe tropical storm "Paeng" to some classrooms, including classrooms in Bokod, Benguet due to the landslide that occurred during the height of the storm.