New school building helped solve classroom congestion in Malaga NHS - Peña I Annex

By CHENZI MAE UY
February 1, 2020

CALBAYOG CITY – The new two-storey, four-classroom building in Malaga National High School - Peña I Annex has helped the school with its perennial problem on classroom congestion, said Officer-in-Charge Dr. Lilia Adel.

The building was turned over by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), on behalf of the Department of Education, last December 2019.

Three (3) Grade 8 sections and one (1) Grade 9 class, or around 140 students, moved in since the resumption of classes in January 6, 2020.

Kent Feb Owen Olasiman, a Grade 8 student, said space was really tight in their previous rooms. He recounted that they used to have a hard time cleaning their rooms, which get flooded whenever it rained.

On congestion, Dr. Adel says it has been a problem since 2011. “We would fuse two classes in one makeshift room because we don’t have another option. After typhoon Yolanda, we had up to three sections occupying one room at a time,” she recalls.

Now, all classes have their own rooms except for Grade 12 students. The two Grade 12 sections are still sharing one room because the school utilizes one of the rooms as a computer laboratory. Nevertheless, the students will transfer to another DPWH-implemented school building project in the same campus as soon as it is turned over.

“We are grateful to DepEd and DPWH for these new learning facilities. They are a big help to our school especially since we have a year-to-year increase in enrolment.”