Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairperson of the City Council committee on education, said they are now coordinating with the Department of Education (DepEd) to determine the lists of schools with dilapidated classrooms.
He said it’s the responsibility of the local government unit to ensure the safety of the students inside the schools.
He added the DepEd is also preparing for the full implementation of the F2F classes and it is important to provide safe classrooms for the students.
Espino stressed that the city will also implement new programs for the DepEd to develop the technology of the public schools including internet connectivity.
“Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez already instructed us to allocate a budget for the improvement of the public schools, “ Espino said.
Aside from these programs, he said, the city is also ready for the distribution of the free school supplies before the implementation of the F2F classes.
Espino added at least 77, 000 public elementary students in Bacolod City will avail of the free school supplies.
These include composition notebooks, crayons, pack of popsicle sticks, glue, long transparent plastic envelope, writing notebooks, writing pads, ruler, sharpener, intermediate pads and ballpen.
Meanwhile, Espino said one of the private companies submitted their proposal for insurance for the public school students in Bacolod City.
He said it’s only a proposal and they have not talked yet.
“We will evaluate their proposal to determine the merits for the benefits of the students,” the official added.*