Principals learn construction mgt.

THE Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Deped-Armm) trained school heads in classroom construction management to help make sure of quality classroom construction in the region.

Dr. John Magno, Deped-Armm Secretary, said school heads were trained to learn basic concepts of construction as well as to get acquainted with the building design and the specifications of construction materials.

“We want our school heads to learn all these skills so they could help us monitor the construction of classrooms in their respective schools,” he said.

He shared that the regional government of Armm has filed cases against poor performing contractors last year.

“The training of school heads in classroom construction management is one of our strategies to prevent contractors from short-changing schoolchildren, the end-users of our classrooms,” he said.

To date, the Department has trained 1,125 school heads, parents, and Deped-Armm division supervisors with the help of the Basic Education Assistance for Muslim Mindanao (Beam-Armm), an education program funded by the Australian Government.

Beam-Armm was launched by the Australian Government in 2012 and is aimed at contributing to the alleviation of poverty and the emergence of peace in Armm through targeted investments in basic education.

Elma Maliga, school principal of Sapakan National High School in Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao, acknowledged that she is not an engineer.

“I wouldn’t know the intricacies of construction work,” she said.

Following the training, Maliga realized the importance of monitoring the progress of classroom construction on a daily basis.

“Now, I want to check every construction material delivered by the contractors to our school. I want to see how the contractors will install the columns of the classroom building – from assembling the iron bars to the pouring of concrete,” she said.

Maliga added that columns, ceiling, and the floor must be constructed properly for the safety of schoolchildren.

Magno said DepedArmm will ensure that contractors will fulfill their obligation of building quality classrooms using quality materials. “Gone are the days of poorly constructed classrooms in Armm,” he said.

The classroom construction management training for school heads is a landmark initiative introduced by the Beam-Armm Program and implemented by Deped-Armm starting in 2014.