The move revives the use of PPPs for school construction, an approach previously adopted during the previous Aquino administration to help reduce the country’s classroom backlog.
“For its part, the private sector also will construct its initial share of more than 16,000 classrooms in Luzon by way of PPPs,” Marcos said during his State of the Nation Address.
Several private sector groups, including tycoon Edgar Saavedra-led Megawide Construction Corp., had earlier signaled their interest in supporting the government’s classroom construction push through PPPs.
Bigger push in Visayas, Mindanao
He added that additional PPP projects with higher production targets will follow in the Visayas and Mindanao. Marcos said the Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and local governments have also been tapped to help the Department of Education accelerate classroom construction.
The government is also expanding classroom production by bringing in more agencies while continuing to equip teachers with smart TVs, laptops, tablets, free mobile data and lapel microphones to support classroom instruction.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
