Cebu needs thousands of classrooms -DepEd

CEBU, Philippines - The province of Cebu is in need of thousands of additional classrooms for the next school year, according to the Department of Education-7.

Deped-7 information officer Clara Falconi said of the 5,676 classrooms needed for Cebu, 2,660 are in municipalities across the province.

The remaining 3,016 classrooms are needed in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Talisay, Bogo, Carcar, Danao, Naga and Toledo.

Falconi said that the need for additional classrooms for Cebu is included in their budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2013.

DepEd identified Cebu to have acute need for classrooms aside from Pangasinan, Isabela, Batangas, Quezon, Palawan, Camarines Sur, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Leyte, Zamboanga del Sur and North Cotabato.

The education department said in a separate statement that some 2,000 classrooms will be turned over by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation in December 2014.

This is part of the government's effort to wipe out classroom shortage in public schools nationwide.

The ongoing construction of the additional classrooms, which is being funded by the P2 billion donation from PAGCOR, is being undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Lone entry

Meanwhile, DepEd's Public-Private Partnership for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP) has been the lone entry from the ASEAN to the Partnerships Awards 2013.

The project aims to address shortages in public school classrooms through partnerships with the private sector,

The PSIP, which is the Philippine's first PPP social infrastructure project, supplements the initiatives of the government to address the current shortage of public school buildings nationwide.

About 9,301 classrooms will be built in various sites in Regions I, III and IV-A under the PSIP.

DepEd, in a statement, said the bidding for the second phase of PSIP is ongoing.

With PSIP-II, 10, 679 classrooms, including furniture and toilets, will be constructed in 5,146 public schools in 14 regions nationwide under a build-and-transfer agreement.

P100M a year

Team PNoy senatorial candidate Edgardo "Sonny" Angara said that if elected, he will allot P100 million a year from his Priority Development Assistance Fund to help solve problem on classroom and equipment shortages in public schools.

Angara, in a statement to The FREEMAN, said one of his priority projects is to build more classrooms, libraries and upgrade computers in public schools.

A senator has P200 million PDAF a year.

"Our public schools and government-run universities lack the necessary facilities like classrooms, libraries, and their computers need upgrading compared to public schools and universities in other countries," he said.

Angara said that there is a need to prioritize the classroom shortage because it leads to other problems in the education sector such as the increase in dropout rates and poor student performance. —(FREEMAN)