10 classrooms at MCCNHS unsafe

Friday, February 10, 2012

CLOSE to 300 students from a public high school have been forced to hold their classes at the school lobby and gym, after it was found out that 10 of their classrooms have been damaged by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu and the other parts of Central Visayas last Monday.

Benjamin Tionzon, Department of Education (DepEd) Mandaue Division administrative officer, told reporters yesterday that 10 classrooms at the Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School (MCCNHS) were deemed unsafe for use after major cracks were found on the structures.

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Of the 10 damaged classrooms, five of which are found in the main campus in Barangay Centro, while the other five, including a computer room, are located in its annex campus in Barangay Looc.

Tionzon said that the Office of the Building Official (OBO) conducted an ocular inspection in the school and informed the school officials about its findings.

Because of this, a total of 270 students have to take their classes in the gym and lobby.

Tionzon, however, admitted that the earthquake last Monday may have just aggravated the state of the classrooms, which have been in used since 1985, and may have been infested by termites.

Tionzon said that aside from the MCCNHS, they are also awaiting words from OBO on their overall report on the number of classrooms in the city that were damaged by last Monday’s earthquake.

Apart from seeking help from Mandaue City School Board, Tionzon said, they would also ask the assistance of private corporations in building new classrooms.

Mandaue City public market administrator Mussolini Suliva, on the other hand, said yesterday that the supporting structures of the new public market were also found with minor cracks. He described these as “hairline cracks.”

He said he already asked the Mandaue City Engineering Office to check on these cracks.