NEW ERMITA LANDMARK Manila city government and education officials mark a milestone for the country鈥檚 first science high school on Thursday. 鈥擯HOTO FROM MANILA.GOV.PH
The city government of Manila has turned over a newly constructed 10-story building to Manila Science High School (MaSci), the first public school to use a structure of such height in the country.
It was a milestone for MaSci, which was established in 1963 as the first science high school in the Philippines.
Located at the corner of Taft Avenue and Padre Faura Street in the Ermita district, the building is designed to have a total of 158 classrooms, space for up to 16 offices, a library, an auditorium, a basketball gym and roof-deck area for other sports, and a canteen. It is also serviced by five elevators.
35 per classroom
The P1.3-billion building began construction during the term of then Manila Mayor Francisco 鈥淚sko Moreno鈥� Domagoso, who was present at Thursday鈥檚 turnover rites with incumbent Mayor Honey Lacuna.
The auditorium is named after Joaquin Domagoso, in honor of the ex-mayor鈥檚 father.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy for the students,鈥欌�� Domagoso said. 鈥淚 hope you can excuse us for the hardships that you faced during those two years of online classes. I hope [the new building] is worth the wait.鈥�
City Hall earlier said the new building is expected to serve more than 5,500 students, at around 35 students per classroom.
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World-class
鈥淵our school can now achieve the universally acceptable student-teacher ratio in a very good (learning) environment,鈥� Domagoso added.
For Lacuna, having a 鈥渨orld-class facility鈥� is just 鈥渇itting鈥欌�� for a school that has consistently produced exemplary graduates.
鈥淭oday we are making history 鈥� as the first to have a state-of-the-art, 10-story science high school in the Philippines,鈥� said MaSci principal, Manolo Pe帽a, during the turnover ceremony.
鈥淭his is not just a simple infrastructure (but also) a symbol of our dedication to improving the quality of education. These walls would contain the beginning of dreams, studies, and experiences toward a better future,鈥� Pe帽a added. 鈥擥illian N. Villanueva