Bulacan school gets new building
PULILAN, Bulacan – With the government’s mandate to provide free education and to encourage that every child be enrolled, the student population continues to grow, leading to classroom shortage in the past several years.
While the perennial classroom shortage every school year is being addressed by government, local government units and private institutions are lending their full support to improve the learning environment by donating school buildings and renovating dilapidated ones.
SM Prime through the SM Foundation recently turned over a two-story, four-classroom school building to the Balatong Elementary School in Pulilan, Bulacan. It is the first school building donated by SM to the municipality and the 89th donated by SM Prime through SM Foundation. This translates to an aggregate of 284 classrooms nationwide since SMFI started its school building program in 2002.
The new school building is fully furnished with 200 armchairs that include 20 chairs for left-handed students, earning for SM Foundation the distinction of being the only company that provides such amenities for the left handed. The arm chairs were built by PWDs of the Foundation of These-abled, instilling in them pride and self-esteem.
Each classroom is equipped with a set of teacher’s table/ chair, four wall fans, two blackboards, a wall clock, and a toilet including a ramp and toilet for PWDs.
The new school building follows the Minimum Performance Standards and Specifications (MPSS) in the design of DepEd school buildings to ensure the comfort and safety of the would-be occupants of the school buildings.
Balatong Elementary School is the only public school servicing three barangays: Barangay Balatong, Penabatan and Tenejero. Student population is 1,173 pupils. With the new school building, the classroom to student ratio of 1:50 will improve to 1:46. Grade 5 students will utilize the new classrooms.
The inauguration and turnover ceremonies was attended by Pulilan Mayor Maria Rosario Ochoa Montejo who gave an inspirational message. Also gracing the affair were SM Foundation executive director for education Carmen Linda Atayde; SM Sangandaan Mall manager Engr. Emmanuel Gatmaitan; Engr. Jeffrey Sayo of SM Center Pulilan, Monica Cunan of SM Baliwag, Balatong Elementary School principal 1 Michelle Sollestre; PTA president Rolando Cruz, and DepEd’s Michael Dela Cruz.