Valenzuela working to meet ideal student-classroom ratio

MANILA, Philippines - The Valenzuela City government is continuously building additional classrooms to meet the ideal student-to-classroom ratio, an official said yesterday.  

Ahna Mejia, Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian’s spokesperson, said the city government allotted a total of P225 million for this year alone for additional classrooms and other school facilities.

Mejia said the city government is still far from addressing the classroom shortage but claimed that in Metro Manila, Valenzuela City has a better student-to-classroom ratio, which is 48:1 in elementary schools and 54:1 in secondary schools.

The ideal ratio is 45:1 in elementary and 50:1 in secondary schools, Mejia said. Schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) have an average ratio of 85:1.

According to Mejia, the city government is also holding seminars and trainings for the teachers in partnership with the Synergeia Foundation, which is helping the local government oversee the improvement of its education system.

Mejia said they are already starting to reap the fruits of their education program when Valenzuela topped the NCR elementary level National Achievement Test held last March.