Las Piñas school cuts classes over unfinished classrooms

MANILA, Philippines - Officials at the CAA National High School in Las Piñas City reduced the number of schooldays a student has to attend due to unfinished classrooms.

A notice posted outside the school announced that classes for fourth year high school and grade eight students will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while grade seven and third year high school students will attend classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

School principal Ricardo delos Santos refused to comment on the notice, saying that reporters must first secure a permit from the Department of Education before he grants an interview. “That is the protocol,” his secretary said.

The school was reported to have at least 80 to 90 students per classroom, but guidance counselor Melania Gogorza said that this school year, they have limited the number of students to 50 per classroom.

She said classes are held in two shifts: 6 a.m. to noon and 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Gogorza said the reduction in the number of schooldays is temporary and will be lifted as nine new classrooms will be completed this month.

She said over 3,000 students enrolled this year and the three-story school has only 16 classrooms available, “so we have to adjust schooldays to accommodate students.”