The local government is set to pursue more initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of education in public elementary and high schools through continued collaboration with the national government.

Mayor Jerry Treñas on Monday said he and incoming mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu will meet with officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) central office on June 6 to present a list of education-related concerns and proposals.

“For the past six years since I took over as mayor of Iloilo City, most of the buildings in elementary and high school were funded by the city. We are thankful that we have sufficient SEF (Special Education Fund), so we were able to construct schools that were badly needed by our children,” he said in a media interview.

This year, the city government has allocated PHP403.12 million for the construction, repair, rehabilitation and improvement of school buildings, multi-purpose buildings, early childhood care and development, and school security facilities.

The city government aims to build computer, science, and speech laboratories for elementary and secondary schools.

Treñas said he wanted to improve the children’s comfort rooms and provision of water facilities.

“If we will no longer be spending for the school buildings, then we can build computer laboratories, science labs, speech labs to help our children,” he added.

Treñas also hoped that DepEd would absorb its locally-funded teachers in the 16,000 plantilla positions that will be opened this year.

“We put in already a total of funds for 50 locally-paid teachers for this year. If DepEd can assure us, it would absorb our locally-paid teachers, then we can use it for other projects,” he said.

He added the city government would want to sustain the reading program it developed in partnership with the Synergeia Foundation, a non-government organization.

Under the program, reading materials are provided to learners. (PNA)