CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — With the opening of classes next month and with the implementation of the controversial K12 program, the Department of Education (DepEd)’s office in Region 7 said there is a need for at least some 4,205 pre-school teachers this school year.

In a recent forum here, DepEd7 information officer Dr. Clara Rebecca Falconi said that the same number of classrooms are also needed in the region with over 200,000 new preschoolers being anticipated by the agency.

The department will also need some P2.8 billion to construct these classrooms, and another P210 million for school furniture.

Currently, there are about 2, 929 pre-school classrooms in Central Visayas and the region needs a total of 1,950 classrooms for elementary schools and 2,336 classrooms for secondary schools.

The region also lacks 258,967 school seats and 15,831 toilets.

During said Forum, Falconi gave assurances that education officials in the region are working hard to solve school related problems before the start of classes next month.

“Starting next week we will have the Brigada Eskwela, as we prepare our classrooms for June 6, which is the first day of class,” she said.

The DepEd7 official is encouraging all stakeholders to continue their support for Brigada Eskwela as he said this will help greatly in the smooth opening of classes because, unlike in the past, children will no longer have to clean their classrooms.

Moreover, the National Government has allocated P833 million for the building of classrooms and the procuremen of other school facilities in Central Visayas.

Aside from classrooms construction, the amount will also be used to repair old ones, build school water and sanitation facilities, and purchase school furniture like chairs and tables.