Courtesy: Dennis Jay Santos
THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., approved on Wednesday the P30.56-billion Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools (ISRS) Project aimed at rehabilitating and reconstructing school facilities outside Metro Manila damaged by calamities.
The project, to be funded by official development assistance (ODA) loan from the World Bank-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will be implemented by Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Of the PhP30.56 billion total project cost, PhP27.50 billion will come from loan proceeds while the PhP3.06 billion will be counterpart fund from the national government.
The ISRS Project, to be implemented from 2025 to 2029, involves the repair, rehabilitation, retrofitting, and reconstruction of school facilities outside National Capital Region, which were damaged by various disasters between 2019 and 2023.
It is expected to benefit 1,282 schools, 4,756 school buildings, 13,101 classrooms, and 741,038 learners.
Among the project components include Relatively Simple Works for School Infrastructure Recovery and Operations and Maintenance with a Php9.65 billion allocation and Relatively Complex Works for School Infrastructure Recovery with Php19.81 billion budget.
Another component will be Project Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation with Php1.1 billion budget allocation.
The project aims to build classrooms that will be better in case of future hazard events in order to ensure functional continuity of the educational system and reduce disruptions in learning.
