After student's electrocution: City councilor wants Tesda to inspect school equipment

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority should conduct an inspection and inventory of all machinery and equipment used for vocational courses or subjects in all schools and universities in the city.

Councilor Arsenio Pacaña said this yesterday following the electrocution last Thursday of 19-year-old Raymund Pepito. Pepito, an industrial technology junior of the Cebu State College of Science and Technology-Main Campus.

Pepito was polishing a wooden chair for his cabinet and furniture-making class using a portable grinder that turned out to be defective, causing his electrocution.

The TESDA inspection is necessary to determine the condition of vocational machinery and tools in schools and to ensure that the students using these are safe, said Pacaña.

Pacaña also said he will file a resolution at the city council to make his request official and orders TESDA to report back its findings, along with recommendations on addressing some problems, if there are.

In relation to this councilor Edgardo Labella called on the Committee on Higher Education to determine with dispatch an earlier complaint of CSCST-Main students on the alleged flaws in the management system of the school administrators.

The students alleged that while the teachers and consultants were enjoying hefty salaries, the school was using "dilapidated and unsafe school facilities and equipment."

Labella opined that the tragic death of Pepito might validate the students' allegations so CHED should act on this matter and determine the veracity of the accusations.

Meanwhile, the League of Filipino Students has issued a press statement demanding for justice on Pepito' death.

"Raymund's untimely death should not be forgotten. The people responsible for his death should be made answerable. We call for an in-depth investigation to determine if there was any lapse committed on the part of school administration," the statement said. - Cristina C. Birondo