BRAULIO E. DUJALI, DAVAO DEL NORTE—40 year-old Eva Avira, the president of the parent teachers association in one elementary school here displayed her biggest smile when she witnessed the unloading of school furniture fabricated by the City Government of Tagum.
On January 26, 2012, at least 286 pieces of armchairs, kiddie chairs and desks were formally turned-over by Tagum City Mayor Rey T. Uy to East Cabayangan Elementary School and Magupising Elementary School, replacing old ones in which Mrs. Avira described as not suited to be used by the students.
“It was a relief that finally, swinging chairs will now be replaced with old ones which really make a big impact in the learning of our children,” she said in vernacular, trying to keep her tears from falling.
For School Principal Susan T. Flores, the brand new school furniture replacing their dilapidated chairs added weight to their desire to deliver quality education, as these materials will truly make their school a conducive learning place.
One success factor of achieving that quality education is providing each student a good posture through the recommended size of their chairs or desks, the principal shared. She added that with the status of their old school chairs, that remains a dream.
It was true indeed when Mayor Uy’s team discovered that their chairs share a common denominator with those of other schools in the region: deteriorating, too dark for an already dark classroom and most are swinging.
Good thing, Mrs. Avira and Mrs. Flores muse, is that this will now be a thing of the past. All it took for them to acquire the brand-new school furniture from Tagum was courage and sweat.
In two separate dates, the group which included no less than Dujali Mayor Lolita Moral heeded the call of Mayor Uy to volunteer in sand papering and painting of some of the thousands school furniture at the city’s motorpool—the center of production of chairs made from confiscated logs. The workforce manning the fabrication section is capable of producing 1,200 pieces of armchairs in a span of seven days.
Aside from the two schools in Dujali, Panabo City’s Kaputian and Little Panay Elementary Schools, respectively received 287 pieces of school fixtures last January 25, 2012. Panabo Mayor Jose Silvosa was all praise for the program which he tag as a monumental effort to keep the school children concentrate in their lessons.
Now on its fifth month of operation, the Care for School Chairs Program has now a record-high 19, 211 pieces of school furniture delivered in schools in Davao Region as of January 26, 2011, gaining positive comments from all sectors, including to the department which greatly benefited from it.
In a brief interview, Schools Division Superintendent of DepEd Davao del Norte hailed the City Government of Tagum led by Mayor Uy for this “very rare and unique program,” saying that the brand-new chairs will give “convenience” to the students and will be a contributor “to make a comfortable learning environment.”
Jan 27 2012 by Tagum City Info Office
https://www.tagumcity.gov.ph