ZAMBOANGA CITY—The United States Agency for International Development (USAid) and Petron Philippines on Wednesday formally kicked off its partnership to cofinance the construction of classrooms to help alleviate the classroom shortage and improve access to basic education in war-affected areas in Mindanao.

As a start, a two-classroom school building in Sapu Padidu, Malapatan, Sarangani will be built.

USAid Philippine Mission Director Jon Lindborg, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Jesli Lapus and Gov. Miguel Dominguez attended the ground-breaking ceremony.

Based on the Commitment to Partnership Agreement signed by US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Petron chairman and chief executive officer Nicasio Alcantara on April 14, USAid and Petron Foundation pledged $1.25 million each for the construction of 120 classrooms and rehabilitation of 480 more in the next four years to help alleviate the classroom shortage and improve access to basic education in war-torn areas in Mindanao.

The US Embassy said in a statement that 20 new classrooms are scheduled to be built, and 54 more will be repaired in 2008 under the project.

The USAid and Petron partnership will equip new and refurbished classrooms with water and electricity, desks, teachers’ tables and chairs, blackboards, cabinets, fans, clocks and toilets.

At the same time, USAid is also supporting the DepEd’s annual Brigada Eskwela program by distributing building materials, paint and books in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Western Mindanao, and Central Mindanao areas.

Brigada Eskwela is the nationwide initiative of the DepEd to help communities prepare their schools for the start of the new academic year.

The program involves the collective effort of teachers, pupils, parents, local governments and civic organizations to clean up and repair school buildings.

USAid, through its Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills 2 (EQuALLS2) project, is participating in the Brigada Eskwela by providing 729 public elementary schools with P5,000 worth of supplies each.

The supplies were identified by the school heads and teachers who were consulted by EQuALLS2 through its three implementing partners: the Education and Livelihood Skills Alliance (Elsa), Save the Children, and Synergy. 

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ZAMBOANGA CITY—The United States Agency for International Development (USAid) and Petron Philippines on Wednesday formally kicked off its partnership to cofinance the construction of classrooms to help alleviate the classroom shortage and improve access to basic education in war-affected areas in Mindanao.