7,000 armchairs to public schools

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The local business sector here will be donating some 7,000 armchairs to various public schools in the city. The city government had forged partnership with local business sector led by RD Foundation Inc. (RDFI) to address the lack of armchairs in public schools which reached 14, 000 pieces. City Mayor Ronnel Rivera said some 3,700 worth 2.6 million armchairs will be distributed by the business group to the various public schools by the end of March. During the education summit last year, local education officials and stakeholders noted the scarcity of armchairs in the public schools which reached up to 14,000 units. Of the 139,000 public school students in the city, 14,000 of them do not have armchairs in their classrooms, which contributed to the declining literacy rate among students in public schools. The business sector hired selected persons-with-disabilities (PWDs) in the city to manufacture the 7,000 pieces of armchairs which cost 700 each. (Joseph Jubelag)