ENVISIONED SCHOOL | An artist’s rendition of a proposed school building (Photo from the Department of Education)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) showcased on Tuesday the design for medium-rise school buildings to meet a shortage of 243,000 classrooms nationwide, said Education Undersecretary Alain Del Pascua.
The scale model of the buildings varies from five to 12 stories as these are designed to be built in cities or urban areas “where we have a growing population brought about by urban dwellers and because of the limited land area of the school site,” Del Pascua said.
The mid-rise buildings, which are classified either as academic buildings or academic buildings with workshops, promote heritage structure by incorporating the architecture of Gabaldon school buildings that were built during the American colonial era.
Depending on the building size, the structure can have 25 to 60 classrooms, with each classroom accommodating 40 to 45 students.
Support facilities of the proposed building include concession space, administration office, clinic, toilets, and a multipurpose covered roof deck accessible via elevator.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones recalled that the lack of school buildings was among the very first problems brought up to her when she became a public official.
Priorities
At the legislature, Briones said there have been ongoing debates on what should be prioritized in the budget.
“There are those who say that the budget for constructing school buildings should be put somewhere else since the DepEd and [the Department of Public Works and Highways] are not able to follow through,” she said, noting that there were also those who still believe that physical structures are still needed.“[This mid-rise building design] is our creative solution to the ever-increasing demand for space for schools,” she said.
According to Public Works Acting Secretary Roger Mercado, the agency was able to build 179,765 new classrooms from the DepEd’s 2014 to 2021 basic educational facilities fund.
“Despite this accomplishment, the continued shortage of classrooms may be noted during the yearly enrollment of students,” he said.
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