CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Department of Education (DepEd)-Cagayan de Oro Division said this city lacks around 600 classrooms.
THE West City Central School in Barangay Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, on Thursday, August 31. (Franck Dick Rosete)
Roy Angelo Gazo, superintendent of the Cagayan de Oro City Schools Division, said the shortage of classrooms has been the reason for the morning and afternoon shift classes to accommodate all students.
To address the lack of classrooms, DepEd-Cagayan de Oro Division conveyed its concerns to the two congressmen here to have a budget for the construction of more classrooms.
"This means that if it is included in the annual budget of the national government, it won’t be heavy on the part of the city government to address the need for classrooms," Gazo said on Thursday, August 31.
During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education on August 23, DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas reported that the country lacks 156,000 classrooms this school year 2023-2024.
The agency seeks to build 5,133 new classrooms in the country this year.
Apart from the national government, Gazo said city government has also built more classrooms.
ROY Angelo Gazo, superintendent of the Cagayan de Oro City Schools Division, answers questions from the media after the groundbreaking ceremony of the four-story, eight-classroom building in the West City Central School, Barangay Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, on Thursday, August 31. (Franck Dick Rosete)
On Thursday, Mayor Rolando Uy here, together with officials from the Local School Board, DepEd-Cagayan de Oro Division, and other city officials, led the groundbreaking ceremony of the four-story, eight-classroom building in the West City Central School (WCCS) in Barangay Carmen.
Uy has built a total of 42 classrooms in his term – 16 in the Bulua National High School, six in the FS Catanico Elementary School, and 12 in the East City Central School.
"Our program will continue, especially for those schools that are in need of additional classrooms and additional equipment that will make it easier to teach the students," Uy said.
These eight classrooms will have a multimedia package composed of a smart television, projector, sound system, and desktop computer.
The city government allocated over P48 million for the project, including desks for teachers and tables for the students, except for the multimedia package.
WCCS Principal Jerry Taruc thanked Uy and the local government for choosing the school as a recipient. They lack 15 to 20 classrooms, specifically in Grades 1 and 2, and have emergency classes divided into morning and afternoon shifts.
WCCS has 160 teachers who can still manage the ideal ratio of 35 students per classroom for Grades 1 to 3 and 40 to 45 students per classroom for Grades 4 to 6.
Uy said they will also construct additional 16 classrooms in a public school in Barangay Gusa in this city.
The Department of Education said 1,169,552 students have enrolled in Northern Mindanao as of 2:05 p.m. on August 30. Region 10 is eighth among the regions with the highest number of enrolled students in the country.
CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy and other government officials lower the time capsule during the groundbreaking ceremony of the four-story, eight-classroom building in the West City Central School, Barangay Carmen, on Thursday, August 31. (Franck Dick Rosete)