Mayor Mel Aguilar made the pledge during preparations for the opening of classes as she vowed that no child of school age be denied access to public education in the city’s day-care centers and public schools.
"We will make sure that no qualified students must be denied access to free and quality education in any of our public schools. We will continue to provide more teachers and school buildings to take them in," the mayor said.
She pointed out that while the city has not been getting any financial assistance from the Department of Education (DepEd) for school buildings and other infrastructure development, she plans to request the DepEd for additional teachers in anticipation for the increase of enrollees.
The city subsidizes a total of 65 day-care centers, 20 public elementary, seven secondary schools, and the DFCAMC while granting free tuition, books, snacks to pre-schoolers and all other school supplies to help the parents cope with the rising cost of education.
During the summer months, the city constructed a three-storey, 17-classroom building for Talon I Elementary School and a three-storey, 15-classroom modern high school building in Barangay BF International/CAA.
The city also provided 88 additional tables and chairs for teachers, 1,350 chairs, 600 desks, 39 classrooms and 78 blackboards to existing school facilities.