Pasay constructing new school buildings

Local education officials said that additional buildings are being constructed in a number of schools in Pasay City to address the problem of "overcrowded" classrooms.

Rosalinda Tongco, Pasay City-Division of Schools superintendent, said the local government, in coordination with the local school board, has identified at least six school — three primary and three secondary — where additional buildings or classrooms would be put up.

Tongco noted that construction activities are ongoing in schools like the Kalayaan National High School, Pasay City West High School, Pasay City East High School, Zamora Elementary School and the Epifanio Elementary School.

"The plan is to build at least 10 new classrooms for each of the schools. Around P10 million to P20 million has been allocated per school for construction of these new buildings," she noted.

Tongco cited the transfer of several students from private to public schools, as a factor contributing greatly to congestion in classrooms of Pasay’s public schools. "We have observed that this is the trend for the past two years in many of the city’s public schools. It is the high cost of education which has prompted parents to transfer their children previously enrolled in private academic institutions to public schools."

She likewise said that for the past several weeks, they have been busy implementing "Oplan Balik Eskwela," initiated by the Department of Education.

"School facilities have been readied. Both the teachers and the parents who were represented through the Parents-Teachers and Community Association, attended seminars which focused on how they can best play their respective roles in helping provide quality education for the children in Pasay City," Tongco said.

She added that school authorities were also briefed on disaster management to equip them with the knowledge on what to do when they are faced with disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons while in the school premises. – Rhodina Villanueva