Makati allots P1.3-B for needs of public school students

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MANILA — The city government of Makati has earmarked P1.3 billion out of its P2-billion budget for education this year to provide for the needs of public school students from preschool to high school, including free school supplies and school uniform.

In a statement, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay said the city this year has allocated P520 million for Project Free, through which Makati’s public schoolchildren from preschool to high school have received free school supplies and uniforms every school year since 1995.

Each student will receive at least five notebooks for all levels, five fat pencils for pre-school and Grade 1, five regular pencils for Grades 2 to 6, five ballpens for Grades 3 to 6, five pieces of writing pad from pre-school to Grade 4; and five pieces of intermediate pad for Grades 5 and 6.

At the secondary level, each student will receive five regular pencils, five ballpens, and five pieces of intermediate pad.

He added that the city government will also provide students two sets of school uniform each and two Makati t-shirts (two more t-shirts given in middle of the school year). Except for preschoolers, students will also be given a student diary and a pair of jogging pants each for their physical education class. Meanwhile, preschoolers, first graders and freshmen students of Makati Science High School will receive school bags.

The remainder of the P2-billion budget for education has been earmarked as follows: P22.3 million for the University of Makati, P8.9 million for youth and sports development, and P3.6 million for the city’s college scholarship programs at the University of the Philippines and Philippine Normal University.

A separate budget of around P23 million has been allocated for the pilot K to 12 Senior High School Program at the University of Makati, where students also receive free school supplies and uniforms.

With the completion of new school buildings last year, Binay said the city’s 38 public schools have enough classrooms to accommodate over 80,000 enrolees this school year. These include the 10-storey Makati Science High School building in Barangay Cembo, the four-storey Comembo Elementary School extension and four-storey Pembo Elementary School extension.

According to the Department of Education-Makati, the schools are still accepting enrolees so their final number for each level cannot be determined to date.

However, during the early registration it conducted in March, some 80,164 students had enrolled from preschool to high school.

As of March 31, there were 2,108 male and 2,040 female enrolees in preschool, 23,377 male and 22,365 female enrolees in elementary, and 15,160 male and 15,114 female enrolees in high school.

Last school year, there were 6,353 enrolees in preschool, 49,783 in elementary, and 33,724 in high school.