President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday called for the urgent rehabilitation of public schools, placing particular emphasis on improving restroom facilities after visiting several elementary schools ahead of the new academic year.
Speaking to reporters, Marcos said many classrooms, built 20 to 30 years ago, should have already undergone renovation or replacement.
“We really have to look into rehabilitating many of them. One of the main things I noticed are the bathrooms. We badly need to clean and improve them,” he said.
He noted that in many of the schools he visited, the lack of water supply was a major concern. “It’s not a difficult task, but the problem in the schools we went to is that there’s no water. So we need to investigate where the water should be coming from,” he added.
Marcos also instructed officials to find out why some schools no longer have access to water despite the government covering their utility expenses.
“For me, this is basic, because even the health of the children is affected,” he said. “They can get sick if the bathrooms they use are not clean.”
He stressed the importance of addressing these issues for the health and safety of students, describing it as a fundamental responsibility.
During his visit to Bahiran Elementary School in Malolos, Marcos took part in installing a chalkboard in a classroom and helped oversee the distribution of donated tablets to students.
At Tibagan Elementary School in San Miguel, school principal Casimiro Reyes Jr. reported that some classrooms were already infested with termites. He said pest control services have been requested and expressed hope that the problem would be resolved before classes resume on June 16.
In addition, the President announced that the government has hired 20,000 new teachers to help lighten the load on current educators, many of whom have long struggled with heavy administrative duties on top of teaching.
“I’m very happy that we are doing a better job, I think, in preparing for the school year,” Marcos said.
“Everyone is now involved in this effort—not just the Department of Education, but other departments as well,” he added. “We’re all on board to provide whatever our schoolchildren need.