The city government here is reviving its project of providing free school supplies for learners enrolled in public schools as a way of helping parents cope with the energy emergency.

Mayor Raisa Treñas, in a media interview on Wednesday, said they have identified parents as among those affected by the crisis, so they thought of reviving the free school supplies for Kindergarten to High School.

She said that during their meeting with members of the Iloilo City School Board on Tuesday, they approved a budget of about PHP8.5 million from the Special Education Fund for the project.

Part of the budget will also come from Supplemental Budget No. 1 that was approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) two weeks ago.

Data from the Department of Education showed that 83,543 Kindergarten to Senior High School students are enrolled in public schools in Iloilo City.

During the school board meeting, they also approved the budget program for school projects after knowing the priority projects of the schools.

“We have 51 projects in 66 schools,” she said, adding that the projects are mostly school buildings.

She said the target is to reduce the ratio of learners to classrooms.

Currently, the ratio is one classroom for every 40 learners, and even one classroom for 50 learners. Other schools conduct classes in shifts to address the lack of facilities.

“Our main target is how to lower the student-classroom ratio to give conducive learning for our students here in the city,” Treñas said, adding that the ideal target is at least one classroom for 30 or 25 learners. (PNA)