THE Cebu City Government will build makeshift school classrooms in Barangay Sapangdaku to accommodate the displaced classes in Sapangdaku Elementary School.
Last Friday, the principal of the school suspended the classes after the Guadalupe River overflowed after a heavy downpour.
The school sits beside the river.
In an emergency meeting called by the Cebu City Local School Board it was agreed that the school has to be relocated considering the danger its location posed to students.
Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) chief Jose Marie Poblete said the temporary classrooms will be built in a city-owned lot now used as basketball court.
“The transferring of the school to a permanent place is easier said than done. So as an immediate action, we will construct a temporary school,” Poblete told Sun.Star Cebu.
The new area is safer, Poblete said, since it is located beside the main road. The area has a 450-square-meter lot space.
DEPW is now preparing the site development of the area after Poblete inspected it yesterday.
Flatten
“We just have to flatten first the ground and then we can start the construction,” Poblete said.
But even with the development, Poblete said there might still be a shortage of classrooms for Sapangdaku Elementary School since the new site has a limited lot area.
DEPW initially plans to build eight classrooms that will be made of light materials.
Poblete said they choose to use light materials for the school considering that it is temporary and also to hasten the construction.
Based on a report the principal submitted to the local school board, the school needs 13 classrooms to accommodate all classes.
“We might make some adjustments on the plan and will utilize the whole area to be able to meet the number of classrooms needed,” Poblete said.
The City advised the school administration and the barangay to implement their disaster action plan when the need arises as classes will still be held at the old site of the school. (RVC)