By:
Sheila Covarrubias
ZAMBOANGA
CITY,
June 27 (PIA)- - The City Government’s education investment has reached P940.24 million
from 2007 to May 31, 2012, proof that the present administration is committed
and steadfast in its resolve to help the education sector.
Through
Mayor Celso Lobregat’s initiative, the city government considers education a
high priority as the Department of Education (DEPED) cannot sufficiently
provide for the maintenance and operation expenditures specifically the school
building program of the different schools in the country.
“As we all know the priority responsibility of
public education is lodged with the Department of Education which receives the
biggest budget from the national government. Yet, almost 90% of that budget
goes to the payment of teachers’ salaries, allowances, benefits and the like”,
the mayor elaborated.
With very little left for maintenance and
operation expenditures, most public schools in the country face acute shortage
of classrooms, school desks, teachers and books, he said. “And if we will wait
for DEPED, the problem will get worse and we will be waiting forever for almost
nothing”.
The city’s
investment covers the construction and repair of school buildings, fences,
comfort rooms, stage facilities, covered courts and other education-related
projects in public schools in the city. “This
is why, our administration, because of sound fiscal management, is taking the
cudgels to ensure quality education for our young people.”
Very prominent in the city’s education projects
is the enormous school buildings constructed or repaired to tackle the
classroom shortage issue. Since 2007, scores of buildings have been undertaken
and due to space limitation in huge school campuses, the school building
program has gone much bigger and higher. These include the 3-storey 15 classroom building at
the Zamboanga City High School-West; the 3-storey 21 classroom building at the
Talon-talon Elementary School; the 3-storey 23 classroom building at the
Tugbungan Elementary School and the soon to be inaugurated 3-storey 27
classroom building amounting to P22.4 million at the Zamboanga City High
School-main.
Not only
public elementary and secondary schools benefit from the city’s massive school
building program but also higher institutions. Today, the city government will
unveil and turn over a 17-door apartment-type dormitory complex at the
Zamboanga City State College of Marine Sciences and Technology.
Bidding for
a modern multi-purpose building to replace the old and dilapidated gymnasium at
the Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College is also under process.
Aside from
the school building and other infrastructure program, the city government also
helps the education sector in other forms such as the opening of new schools to
make education accessible to all children; hiring of teachers through the Local
School Board; granting of allowances to teachers; donation of computer units,
chairs and desks and even the conduct of literacy and skills trainings and the
production of chabacano workbooks to assist in DEPED’s mother-tongue program
and at the same time to pursue the city’s advocacy to preserve and propagate
the chabacano language.
Mayor
Lobregat shared the city’s best practices in education during a focus group
discussion on Education for All Assessment and Catch Up Plan organized by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH) for
educators in Zamboanga Peninsula and the Autonomous Region recently.
The
mayor said the city’s education investment will reach over P1 billion by 2013. (JPA/SC/CIO/PIA9-ZBST)