Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Past hanging live wires and through narrow streets, R. Almario Elementary School in Tondo, Isla Puting Bato has shaped the minds of youngsters despite the fact that for 10 years now, it has had no access to electricity and running water.
According to one of its teachers, the public school has enough materials to help children through the current curriculum, but the learning environment is a problem.
“Actually, yung mga bata ‘pag sinasabi nila, ‘Ma’am, mainit.’ Sabi ko, ‘Anong magagawa natin wala tayong kuryente?'” the instructor lamented.
[Translation: “Actually, sometimes the kids complain and say that it’s too hot. All I can do is ask, ‘What can we do? We have no electricity.'”]
Aside from the lack of electric fans and proper lighting, she added the school only gets water twice a week.
The school’s space, which is just enough to accommodate about 40 students, has also had poor ventilation throughout the years — making it almost impossible for students and teachers alike to concentrate on tasks at hand.
Loisa Dela Cruz, a parent of one of the students enrolled at R. Almario Elementary School, said that the unbearable heat has even caused her son to suffer from a nose bleed at one point.
“Minsan nga hindi siya nakakatapos ng ginagawa niya kasi inaano niya yung sobrang init daw sa school niya — nahihilo siya. One time nga sobrang init na dito dumudugo pa yung ilong niya,” Dela Cruz said.
[Translation: “Sometimes he (my son) can’t even finish his schoolwork because of the heat — he says it makes him dizzy. There was even an instance that it became too hot, his nose bled.”]
Because of this, Dela Cruz noted that the school isn’t ready for the K-to-12 (K-12) educational reform program. She added that fellow parents share her sentiment.
Education advocates speak up
Benjie Valbuena, National Chair of cause-oriented group Alliance of Concerned Teachers, said that R. Almario Elementary School isn’t the only school facing these problems.
“This school that that has no electricity, no water, and no sanitation facilities — this is in NCR, in Manila. And this is only one out of 10,514 schools that have the same problem,” Valbuena said.
He explained that this is a result of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) underspending.
“Nitong taon na ito naglaan ng budget ng ating general appropriation act ng 68 billion intended for building construction pero ayon sa report ng DepEd 2 billion lamang ang na release dito,” he said.
[Translation: “It was only this year that a P68 billion-fund was allocated to building construction via the general appropriation act, but according to a DepEd report, only P2 billion was released from the said fund.” ]
