The Iloilo provincial government is studying the possibility of using tents as catch-up classrooms while the construction of permanent structures is ongoing.

“(The strategy is) to have a facility that can help us catch up soon while we are constructing classrooms,” Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said in a media conference on Tuesday.

Defensor Jr. led the inspection of a modular tent of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Tuesday and Wednesday to look into the ventilation, durability, and other ancillary matters to make the facility conducive as a classroom.

He said the design is different, and the material has to withstand heat.

“We want to be sure it is correct. We examine the temperature and the adjustments if ever we decide that this is part of our solution to classroom shortage on a temporary basis,” he said.

The province lacks around 300 classrooms, he added.

The governor said the strategy is to allot a part of the special education fund (SEF) for the catch-up plan.

“The larger part of our SEF goes to an intensified classroom program where we construct typhoon-resilient classrooms,” he added.

He said when not in use, they could turn over the tents to local disaster risk reduction and management councils that could be used during calamities. (PNA)