THE Mandaue City College and the Mandaue City Government are working together to improve the school’s facilities and personnel as recommended by the Commission on Higher Education (Ched).
City Councilor Malcolm Sanchez, chairman of the committee on education, told reporters on Friday, June 17, 2022, that the City Government’s board of trustees had already discussed how to fulfill Ched’s recommendations for continuing the college’s free tuition fee program, which started in 2019 under Ched’s Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education.
One of Ched’s recommendations is for the college to have permanent personnel and its facilities upgraded, including the establishment of a college laboratory and clinic.
Sanchez said they had already activated the MCC’s search committee for hiring the college’s permanent positions such as a school nurse, guidance counselor and instructors, and also a permanent college administrator.
He added that the City Government had bought 15 computers and begun clearing the MCC’s area near the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex in Barangay Centro for the construction of additional school facilities.
Ched is set to inspect MCC by August or September this year to see if its recommendations have already been met by the school, said Sanchez.
Dr. Lilibeth Mayol, college administrator of MCC, said they started offering free tuition in 2019.
Meanwhile, Sanchez reiterated that the full transfer of MCC to Mandaue City Jail’s location in Barangay Looc is still not possible as the jail’s new area in Barangay Basak is still not fully developed.
The relocation of MCC and the city jail is part of Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes’ plan to improve education and infrastructure in Mandaue after he was reelected in the May 9, 2022, elections.
Repairs
Also, the Mandaue City Government has allotted P20 million for its Local School Board (LSB) to repair the public primary and secondary schools that were damaged by Typhoon Odette (Rai) last December.
Sanchez said the budget, which came from the city’s Special Education Fund, would be divided by the LSB and distributed to the 14 Mandaue City schools that were severely damaged by Typhoon Odette, based on data from the Department of Education (DepEd) in Central Visayas.
Damaged by the typhoon are the elementary schools in barangays Tingub, Casili, Maguikay, Umapad, Banilad, Cabancalan, Tabok, Bakilid, and Canduman, and both elementary and high schools in barangays Labogon and Pagsabungan.
Most of these schools had damaged classrooms and buildings, such as collapsed roofs and walls, and the destruction caused by the typhoon is visible until now, said Sanchez.
The City targeted the repair of these schools as soon as possible, so the students can use the facilities during the start of the new school year in August.
Sanchez admitted that the P20 million budget is not enough to repair all the damage, stressing that it may cost P60 million based on the data they have gathered.
He then called on the DepED central office to give Mandaue City additional funds for the school repairs.