The Quezon City Government vowed to continue supporting 10 public high schools that have extended their Blended Learning modality, despite the full resumption of face-to-face classes.

Based on the report of the Schools Division Office – Quezon City (SDO-QC), the 10 schools could not implement the full face-to-face classes due to various factors, such as classroom and teacher shortage. Because of this, the SDO-QC has asked the Department of Education – NCR to extend blended learning modality in these select schools.

“Lubos na sumusuporta ang Quezon City sa pagbabalik ng face-to-face classes pero batid din natin na mayroon pang mga suliranin na dapat muna nating masolusyunan. Dahil dito, mahigpit tayong nakikipagtulungan sa SDO-QC para alamin kung anu-ano pa ang mga pwede nating maitulong sa mga paaralan, lalo na sa 10 high schools na nag-extend ng blended learning,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

Schools that were not able to implement full face-to-face classes include high schools of Justice Cecilia Munoz Palma, Bagong Silangan, Batasan Hills, Balara, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Dona Rosario, Ismael Mathay Sr., New Era, and Emilio Jacinto.

According to the Education Affairs Unit of the city government, the temporary classroom shortage in Ismael Mathay Sr. High School is due to the yellow-tagged rooms that are subject to minor repairs based on the City Engineering Department’s post-earthquake assessment.

Moreover, there is an ongoing construction of a new school in Barangay Bagong Silangan. An 8-storey school building with 52 classrooms is also currently under construction in Barangay Bagbag.

Two new school buildings in Barangay Sta. Monica will also be operational next year which can help ease the classroom needs of Novaliches High School.

The city will be allocating funds for the construction of an additional building in Justice Cecilia Munoz Palma High School and reconstruction of buildings in San Bartolome High School, Batasan Hills National High School, and Dona Rosario High School.

On the other hand, according to SDO-QC, New Era High School is considering sharing classrooms with a nearby public elementary school.

For schools with no buildable space such as Balara High School, the city government continues to determine other possible measures to address classroom shortage by identifying vacant lots, utilizing city-owned buildings nearby and extending another storey/s in school buildings if permitted.

For its part, Emilio Jacinto National High School is currently looking for additional 26 teachers to proceed with the face-to-face classes as it is one of the newly-established schools in the city.

Meanwhile, the city government is continuously distributing tablets and laptops with internet allowance for students and teachers regardless of the learning modality they are in.

“Tuluy-tuloy naman ‘yung pagpapahiram natin ng tablets sa mga bata, blended man ang klase o face-to-face, para makatulong sa pag-aaral nila. Gumagawa tayo ng paraan para makapag-face-to-face classes na rin sila sa lalong madaling panahon,” Mayor Belmonte added.

To efficiently address the classroom shortage in the long term, the city will create a task force that will oversee the infrastructure needs of school children in coordination with various national government agencies.

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