10M chairs, desks for schools nationwide to be made in Caraga
PATIN-AY, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur – The government is eyeing to manufacture some 10 million armchairs and desks which will be constructed in the Caraga region under its expanded program Manufacture of Schools Desks and Chairs-Phase 2 (MSDC-Phase 2).
Under the MSDC-Phase 2 program, the armchairs, desks and other school needs will be manufactured through the collaboration of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Department of Science and Technology-Forest products Research and Development Institute (DOSTFPRDI).
The project’s production sites have already been set up at the Agusan del Sur School of Arts and Trades (ASSAT) here in Patin-ay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur and some designated areas in Caraga region.
“The provincial government of Agusan del Sur had already poured in budget to continue help manufacture school chairs and desks for public schools in far-flung areas in the province and parts of Caraga region,” said Agusan del Sur Gov. Adolph Edward G. Plaza.
Meanwhile, according to DOSTFPRDI performance tests, gubas (Endospermum peltatum) and falcata (Paraserianthes falcataria) will be most suitable for making school desks and chairs.
These performance tests were done at the FPRDI National Furniture Testing Center, a laboratory accredited by the Philippine Accreditation Board (PAB).
Based on the result, all the armchairs tested surpassed 2,500 kilos in the load tests, while the DepEd’s requirement for a school armchair is that can load at least 35-40 kilos. With this, DOST-FPRDI said the result implies that gubas and falcata can now be used to make chairs for DepEd something which has not been done before.
Wide plantation of gubas and falcata are spread all over the five provinces in Caraga region.
The country now has a sustainable wood source for school chairs, since gubas and falcata are fast-growing trees and also the most widely planted species in Mindanao, particularly in Caraga region.