Capacity Audit on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Basic Education

Abstract

Vulnerability may be associated with a community's capacity to act and counteract the effects of a hazard by enhancing the community's capacity to reduce risk. With this, the study seeks to assess the school's capacity for disaster risk reduction and management in terms of implementation differences and identify the obstacles and training requirements for DRRM in the Secondary Public Schools of the province of Benguet. The questionnaire was self-designed based on the activities of the four thematic areas, with its validity and dependability subject to verification. The result indicates that the resource capacity of public secondary institutions is moderately established. Regarding capability, there is no significant distinction between resources, knowledge, and talents. With the current School DRRM plan, every school has a disaster risk reduction and management plan, and most have evacuation and contingency plans. The Public Service Continuity plan and the local climate change action plan are present in only nine institutions. With this result, there are still many spaces to be filled, and the DRRM capacity of each public school must be improved. It may affect the school's performance in delivering its main objective to provide a safe and hazard-free environment. It is best to be proactive and ready to ensure that learners and teachers are safe. The result also indicates that public institutions must examine their system and enhance its implementation of the different thematic areas of DRRM; it does not require a complicated framework but a functional and understandable guideline. If DRRM is implemented effectively, it will assure the continuity of education and the safety of students and faculty.