PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday ordered an inspection of all classrooms in public schools to determine their structural integrity and whether their electrical systems can withstand heavy loads, especially during the simultaneous use of computers, fans, air-conditioners, and lighting, among others.
The President also ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to oversee the immediate construction of a new four-story building to replace the school building of the San Francisco High School in Quezon City that was recently gutted by a fire.
Marcos said the fire in the Quezon City school was due to a faulty electrical system, as in most cases involving old buildings.
He said many of the school buildings being used now are still the “Marcos-type built in the 70s” or those that were built under his father, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
He said these buildings were good only for 20 to 30 years and should be rehabilitated to ensure their safety and sturdiness.
“Iyon ang kailangan nating bantayan. Dahil ang mga schoolroom natin, ang mga school buildings natin, ang mga school facilities natin, medyo luma na rin. ‘Yung sa electrical, kinakargahan na natin ng computer, ng bagong fan, ‘yung iba aircon. Kaya talagang overloaded na (we need to keep track of that… most of our schoolrooms, our school buildings, the school facilities, are quite old already. The electrical system, which is now used for computers, new fans, air-con. They are overloaded),” Marcos said.
“Kaya siguro we have to look at the other schools also na tiyakin na, at the very least, may magandang fuse box para hindi makapag-overload sa ating electrical systems (that’s why we have to look at the other schools also and ensure, at the very least, it has a good fuse box to prevent overloading the electrical systems),” the President added.
The President made these observations after inspecting the burnt building. He promised the construction of a new school building and the replacement of school supplies gutted by the fire.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said at least P180 million is needed to demolish the burnt structure before they can build a new four-story, 36-classroom building that could accommodate 1,500 students.
San Francisco High School principal Marissa Lou Rodriguez said losses due to the fire amounted to over P3 million.
Rodriguez said the school was able to proceed with the opening of classes after the DepEd and Quezon City government provided chairs, computers, and other equipment for the displaced students.
HELPING HAND
The DepEd said a new school building will be constructed to replace the one damaged by fire before the opening of classes at the San Francisco High School in Quezon City.
Angara said the local government of Quezon City and the private sector have stepped in to help.
The June 15 fire destroyed the school’s Dao Building, an Imelda-type structure built in 1985.
Ten classrooms—eight academic and two non-academic—were lost, affecting around 720 junior high school students and resulting in an estimated P3 million in damages.
Angara said among those destroyed were armchairs, teacher desks, fans, lighting fixtures, computer sets, and approximately 150 bundles of learning materials.
He said a new four-story, 20-classroom building has been recommended to be constructed to replace the damaged Dao Building and address the school’s existing classroom shortage.
Learning materials will also be replaced, Angara said, while partners and local donors will provide support to replace damaged furniture, teaching equipment, and classroom ventilation.
With more than 7,300 enrolled students and nearly 330 teaching and non-teaching personnel, San Francisco High School is one of Quezon City’s largest public high schools.
“Hindi po biro ang mawalan ng silid-aralan ilang araw bago ang pasukan, pero ramdam ng mga guro at magulang na hindi sila nag-iisa (It’s no joke losing a classroom days before the opening. But teachers and parents know they’re not alone.) The President’s hands-on approach reminds us that recovery is faster when national leadership listens, acts, and stands with our schools,” the Deped chief told reporters in a chance interview.
President Marcos and Angara visited the school yesterday to check on the condition of the affected students who have been temporarily relocated to a nearby building vacated by the Schools Division Office.
Marcos commended the rapid coordination between DepEd, the local government, and private sector donors in the aftermath of the fire.
“I have already instructed DPWH na tingnan nila how soon we can rebuild it. We will continue to make sure that the children can attend class, and teachers have what they want. ‘Yung mga nasirang gamit, we will replace it,” Marcos said.
Angara said the private sector has also stepped in to help. He said SC Johnson delivered 140 armchairs as part of its 400-chair commitment, while the San Francisco High School Alumni Association and Barangay Sto. Cristo provided paint, toilet fixtures, and manpower.
The Quezon City local government, through its Sanitation and Engineering Offices, deployed personnel and supplies, while nearby public schools shared surplus furniture.
Angara said the DepEd Schools Division Office of Quezon City also released P100,000 in immediate aid.
Additional support is being coordinated with the Philippine Statistics Authority and the SM Foundation, he added.
“We are grateful to all those who offered assistance from the private sector, local government unit alumni, and nearby schools. What happened in the aftermath of the fire is the story of the community coming in to offer whatever help they can,” he said.
A congressional study showed that elementary schools in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Soccsksargen, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are experiencing “severe” classroom shortage.
This was contained in a discussion paper entitled “Low Fertility, Ageing Buildings and School Congestion in the Philippines: Tailwinds, Headwinds and Some Policy Options,” made by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) and released by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) yesterday.
It noted that while the declining fertility rates offer a “potential tailwind” to ease classroom congestion in public schools, the said regions continue to face “severe and persistent” challenges from infrastructure backlogs and aging school buildings.
In NCR, it said that as much as 90 percent of public elementary school students in the Northern Manila District were enrolled in congested schools (with a classroom-student ratio of 1:50).
This was followed by the Southern Manila District comprising the cities of Las Pinas, Pasay, Muntinlupa, Paranaque, Makati, Pasay, Taguig and the lone municipality of Pateros with a 76.8 percent congestion rate, and the Eastern Manila District comprising Pasig, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Quezon City and San Juan with 60.1 percent.
Above-average congestion was also registered in the provinces of Rizal and Cavite, with 66.0 and 57.7 percent, respectively.
“Projecting population growth rate until 2040, the study finds that student-classroom ratios will remain highest in the NCR and surrounding provinces for both elementary and secondary in the next 15 years. The same is expected in Cebu, Occidental Mindoro, BARMM and Soccsksargen,” it said.
“Even with fewer births, the Philippines could still lack 58,000 to 81,000 classrooms by 2040 if no new school ones are built after 2021,” it added.
Angara earlier said there is a 165,000-classroom shortage this school year due to the growing population.
Dr. Karol Mark Yee, EDCOM II Executive Director, said it is imperative for DepEd, as it tackles the classroom shortage, to consider the following factors: “population growth rate, vulnerability to disasters, projected wear-and-tear of existing facilities and available private school capacity within the community.”
Yee said a significant portion of public school rooms are “beyond their estimated useful life,” with projections showing only 18.6 percent of 2023 school rooms will remain in good condition by 2040 without new construction or repair.
“By looking at these factors collectively, we can diversify our interventions in addressing school congestion, break down silos in resourcing and ensure our efforts directly support improvement of learning outcomes of our students,” Yee added.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian called on DepEd to tap Public Private Partnership (PPP) and the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) to help address the problem.
“One strategy that I have been pushing is the implementation of a counterpart program where local government units and the national government share the cost of constructing new classrooms. This way, we can have several LGUs constructing school rooms simultaneously,” Gatchalian, the EDCOM II co-chairperson, said.
Gatchalian said there is a need to be innovative in coming up with measures on how to address the classroom shortage.
Angara previously said the DepEd is working through the PPP program first started by the Aquino administration, which had previously resulted in the construction of 12,000 to 15,000 classrooms nationwide, to help in the construction of new classrooms.
