DepEd: No new classrooms for Tacloban resettlement sites

TACLOBAN CITY, June 9 (PNA) –- School children, whose families recently moved to the city’s northern relocation sites, will have to attend classes in makeshift classrooms as several issues hound government school building projects.

Department of Education (DepEd) Eastern Visayas Regional Director Luisa Bautista-Yu said it takes time to build new learning facilities since various national government agencies and the local government had to come up with agreed plan to provide basic education needs of families.

In a letter to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Yu said that efforts to build new schools have been hurdled with some issues.

“The school sites identified by location and size appear to be insufficient for compliance with these requirements,” Yu saud.

Another concern is the availability of actual data and definite timelines for the actual relocation of families for DepEd to determine how many children need new classrooms.

The education department earlier committed to establish the GMA Kapuso and Ridgeview Schools, however issuance of permit is constrained by non-issuance of school site ownership documents “in favor of DepEd.”

Within the year, the DepEd promised to build 30 to 45 new classrooms near the northern Tacloban relocation sites.

NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy said the central government have been trying to address education-related issues of children in resettlement areas.

“The DepEd has realigned some of their funds to develop new school sites and construct new classrooms. It will start within the year,” Uy told PNA.

NEDA is the agency tasked to coordinate rehabilitation efforts after supertyphoon "Yolanda" that pummelled central Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013.

The official assured that no children will hold classes under a tree with the construction of makeshift classrooms within existing nearby campuses.

In the past two months, the government moved about a thousand families from three bunkhouses to permanent houses.

In a long term, the city government aims to transfer more than 14,000 to the northern villages through housing projects funded by the by National Housing Authority and non-government organizations. (PNA)
JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO