'Classroom backlog in Ecija down by 50 percent'

CABANATUAN CITY ,Philippines  – Classroom shortage in the 700 elementary schools and high schools in Nueva Ecija is down by half, Gov. Aurelio Umali announced here yesterday.

Umali said classroom shortage in the province placed at 1,070 in both the 604 elementary schools and 98 high schools – is now only 565 after the provincial government, through the local school board bankrolled the construction of 342 classrooms worth P325 million.

While the problem of shortage of classrooms is nationwide in scale and is not unique to Nueva Ecija, the provincial government is doing its part to reduce this by financing the construction of more classrooms particularly in areas where they are found wanting,” he said.

He said funds for the classroom construction were sourced through the school board’s Special Education Funds and through loans from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). The Sangguniang Panlalawigan led by Vice Gov. Jose Gay Padiernos, earlier passed a resolution authorizing Umali to enter into a loan agreement with DBP for the additional classrooms.

Tarcila Javier, Department of Education (DepEd) superintendent of schools and co-chairman of the local school board, said the 342 classrooms are on top of the 115 classrooms constructed by the DepEd through the Basic Education Facilities and Furnitures (BEFF) project.

Javier said the DepEd project costs P63 million, the second biggest classroom allocation in Central Luzon. She said some of the classrooms were built through local government initiatives, citing the 48 classrooms in Cabiao town which were negotiated by Mayor Gloria Congco with the help of the Ateneo School of Government and Security Bank.

Orlando de Leon, DepEd-Nueva Ecija planning officer, said the province has 1,771 existing classrooms in high school and 5,371 classrooms in elementary schools.

De Leon said that based on a ratio of one classroom per 30 students, the province is still short of 779 classrooms in high school. In the case of elementary schools and based on a ratio of one classroom per 40 students, the province is still short of 291 classrooms in the elementary level.