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SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA: The Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division of Antique needs around PHP2.5 billion to address its shortage of 986 classrooms.
DepEd engineer Rex Galero said in an interview Tuesday they are urging local and national governments to help as they still have a big classroom shortage even if there is an ongoing construction of 12 classrooms funded under the 2023 budget, and 28 classrooms this year.
‘The classroom shortage is due to the establishment of the integrated high schools, reconstruction of new classrooms to replace the old ones, and some that had been damaged by typhoon Odette,’ he said.
Galero said some newly established integrated high schools hold classes in makeshift classrooms provided by local government units.
In San Remigio alone, six integrated high schools, especially in remote barangays, were established in the last five years to provide access to elementary learners who would like to proceed to the secondary level.
‘Of the newly opened integrated high scho
ols in San Remigio, there is now an ongoing construction of four classrooms at the Aningalan Farm School,’ Galero said.
The other integrated high schools in San Remigio are still holding classes in makeshift classrooms.
‘There are also the 1970s Marcos pre-fab(ricated) and Bagong Lipunan classrooms (buildings) that already need to be replaced for the safety of the learners,’ he said.
Further, 281 classrooms have to be repaired while 32 are for replacement after they were damaged by Typhoon Odette on Dec.16, 2021.
Galero added Senator Loren Legarda, who hails from Antique, already requested the number of classroom shortage so she could help look for funding.
Antique has 136,691 learners enrolled in public schools as of Tuesday.
Source: Philippines News Agency
