CENTRAL Visayas is still waiting for 2,766 of the 13,057 classrooms allocated for the region since 2014.
Department of Education (DepEd) 7 told reporters yesterday that it is asking the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to fast-track the construction of these classrooms.
Salutiano Jimenez, DepEd 7 assistant director, said that some contractors refuse to finish construction because the schools are too far, while some of the unfinished classrooms are leftovers of allocations provided by the DepEd in the past four years.
Based on documents provided by DepEd 7, 66 classrooms that were part of a P2.7 billion-allocation for 2014 are still ongoing construction.
Forty-nine are in Negros Oriental, 15 are in Lapu-Lapu City and two are in Guihulngan City.
Some 2,347 classrooms were finished that year.
In 2015, DepEd gave Region 7 P6.9 billion to build 4,614 classrooms, but 374 classrooms are still not completed.
Some 118 are in Negros Oriental, 61 are in Lapu-Lapu City, 46 are in Cebu City, 29 are in Danao City, 16 are in Guihulngan City, 13 are in Tanjay City, 12 are in Cebu Province and four are in Bayawan City.
DepEd also allocated P5.3 billion to build 3,102 classrooms in 2016, but 1,604 classrooms have yet to be finished with 438 located in Cebu Province.
Last year, DepEd allocated P3 billion to build 1,373 new classrooms, but 718 remain unfinished with 131 located in Cebu Province.
The National Government provided an additional P65 million to build 54 new classrooms, but only 30 were completed. Four remain unfinished, 10 are still under bidding and another 10 have not started construction.
During a press conference organized by the Association of Government Information Officers 7 yesterday, Jimenez explained that some contractors abandoned projects in the middle of construction.
He said that these contractors will not be paid until the classrooms are finished.
He hopes that the DPWH will hasten completion of these classrooms, but he assured that the region has enough classrooms for this school year.
Meanwhile, DepEd 7 Director Juliet Jeruta said that there are 338 public schools in the region that are “not ready” for opening of classes next month, but she did not say where.
She said that these schools lack teachers, chairs, water and sanitation facilities and classrooms.
However, she assured that the schools will still admit students on June 4.