200 new classrooms for SY 2012

CEBU, Philippines - More than 200 new additional classrooms will be used by students and pupils in different public elementary and high schools in the Province of Cebu during the opening of classes next year.

Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre said 115 school buildings with two classrooms each will be finished before the opening of classes.

Pelayre said that more than half are already done while the other half are still being constructed with some problems being fixed including the location.

He said that Governor Gwendolyn Garcia wants to have the school buildings be placed in visible areas to keep it from vandals.

As soon as all these school buildings are completed, Pelayre said the Province of Cebu already has almost 1,000 classrooms constructed since 2005 under the governor’s priority projects.

In a meeting with the contractor, Garcia gave a March 15, 2012-deadline to Pragmatic Development and Construction Corp. to complete the construction of the school buildings or 234 classrooms.

The allocated amount for the project is P80.5 million.

Pragmatic Construction President Januario Ramos reported to Garcia that they are halfway through with 115 units completed.

It is Garcia’s thrust to construct more than 200 classrooms throughout the province every year if necessary, because she wants the ideal student-classroom ratio of 40 students per classroom.

The Provincial School Board has allocated P177.8 million for school year 2011-2012.

The budget already included the construction of 200 classrooms apart from the school supplies, teaching aids, hygiene kits for school children, salaries of school teachers and the allowances of the Cebu Tertiary Education Assistance Program scholars. —(FREEMAN)