Quezon City Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista has ordered a wider search for more new sites for school buildings to ease the classroom shortage in the city.
At a meeting with top QC Hall officials, the mayor disclosed that President  Aquino himself wants the local government to be ready by establishing more school sites to accommodate growing number of students.
Bautista said the President had given him instructions to look for more sites to build school buildings and facilities although the city recently completed the construction of 15 new school buildings in time for the opening of classes this June.
The mayor also said the President believes that access to free public education is the key to a better life for the urban poor.
“Being the biggest city in Metro Manila, we really have to expect bigger and bigger enrolment every year, and we must do everything to accommodate the enrollees,” he said.
He added: “The President is very supportive of our efforts in this direction.”
The city chief executive said the President had said with more school buildings being built in QC, more young people from the urban poor communities will be encouraged to avail themselves of the opportunity to have free formal education.
To date, most of the newly constructed QC school buildings are in District 2.
Bautista said the city will be continually hard-pressed to construct more school buildings in District 2 which accounts for more than 60 percent of the city’s student population.
Barangay Payatas is one of the areas in District 2 that needs more school buildings, the city government said.
The existing elementary and high school campuses in Payatas have an estimated 80 percent classroom deficit, according to the city council.
To address this problem, the QC government plans to build additional school buildings and facilities under a proposed usufruct agreement with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).
The proposed agreement will allow the city government to build additional school buildings and other facilities inside a 28,165-square meter portion of the MWSS property which is a part of the Novaliches Reservoir covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. 10103.
About 9,000 square meters of the portion is presently being used as public elementary and high school campuses and also has a multi-purpose covered court, a police precinct and access ways to inner lots.
The city government needs about 5,129 square meters of the property for the expansion of the existing school grounds, Bautista said.