By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

According to Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division Superintendent for Negros Occidental, Dr. Portia Mallorca, 57 of the expected 192 new classrooms in the province have been completed, with the 2018-2019 academic year set to begin on Monday, June 4.

She noted, the remaining 135 classrooms could be completed sometime next month.

According to the DepEd official, at least 397,000 kindergarten to Grade 12 students are expected to begin school on Monday.

The number is an increase of 2,000 students from the previous academic year.

Mallorca noted, however, measures are in place to ensure classes are not disrupted despite delays.

DepEd-Bacolod Schools Division Superintendent Cynthia Demavivas, meanwhile, said everything is set for Monday’s school opening despite being short of classrooms.

Among the areas where classroom construction has yet to be completed include Barangay Handumanan and the Luisa Medel National High School in Barangay Tangub, where some dilapidated classrooms had been demolished.

Among the measures implemented by the city include double class sessions, where one group holds classes in a certain room in the morning and another in the same room that afternoon, Demavivas explained.

There are more than 100,000 kindergarten to senior high school students in the Bacolod Schools Division, she added./DGB, WDJ