Mid-rise school building proposed in Brgy. Paknan, Mandaue

Department of Education Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III (third from right) and Mandaue City Lone District Rep. Emmarie ‘Lolypop’ Ouano Dizon (third from left) lead a visual inspection of the proposed site for the mid-level school building in Brgy. Paknaan on Wednesday, July 10. CDN Digital Photo/Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – A mid-rise school building will soon be constructed in Brgy. Paknaan, Mandaue City to address the shortage of classrooms here.

Education Undersecretary Epimaco Dansing III said they are currently studying the possibility of constructing mid-rise school buildings because there is not enough space to build additional public school buildings, a problem faced by the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.

In densely populated neighborhoods, mid-rise school buildings, or buildings between five and 12 stories, are ideal, he said.

read: Some schools in Mandaue City implement three-shift system

The planned Paknaan Street School is a 12-storey building with 42 classrooms. The school will be built on a 2,000 square meter plot near the Cansaga Bridge. The property was donated by a businessman who is close to the family of Lone Ward Councillor Emmarie ‘Lolypop’ Ouano-Dizon of Mandaue City.

read: Mandaue schools take steps to keep classrooms cool as temperatures soar

Wano-Dizone said the land donors have pledged to donate another 1,000 square metres if needed.

Densing and Ouano-Dizon led the team on a field trip to the area on Wednesday, July 10. They were joined by Provincial Council member Jonkie Ouano, Mandaue City Councilor Nerrissa Soon-Ruiz and Opao Brgy. Capt. Nixon Dizon.

read: Repair work is accelerating at seven schools affected by Cyclone Odette in Mandaue

“We are focused on infrastructure development, which is the traditional way of solving problems in the past. While we believe blended learning can help, face-to-face classes are still the best option,” said Dansing.

Classroom shortage

Danxing said that the country currently lacks at least 150,000 classrooms.

In addition, about 189,000 school buildings need major or minor repairs.

The shortage of classrooms is also evident in Brgy. Paknaan, a town with a population of more than 30,500 people, according to the 2020 census.

“Considering that Paknan is the largest barangay in Mandaue with a population of over 30,000, there is a severe shortage of classrooms here. There are even 2-3 shifts for elementary and high school classes,” Ouano Dizon said.

Read next