To make sure public schools are ready to accommodate the first batch of senior high school (SHS) students next year under K to 12 Program, the local government of Valenzuela City is on its early stages of building of at least seven exclusive schools for Grade 11 and Grade 12 students.
The local office of Department of Education (DepEd) in Valenzuela City confirmed they intend to start the construction of seven exclusive SHS buildings by June 2015 in expropriated land properties on areas near 3S+ Action Centers.
Dr. Wilfredo Cabral, superintendent of DepEd’s Division of City Schools in Valenzuela City (DCS-V), confirmed that the new public high schools that would exclusively teach SHS curriculum will be constructed in following locations:
| Location of SHS-exclusive schools | Projected no. of student slots |
| Punturin | 323 |
| Lawang Bato | 750 |
| Veinte Reales | 220 |
| Arkong Bato | 408 |
| Lingunan | 629 |
| Ugong | 635 |
| Paso de Blas | 618 |
Related News: Valenzuela City is ready for full implementation of K to 12 – DepEd
Cabral added that on top of the new SHS schools, another seven out of the total 19 existing public high schools in Valenzuela City will also accept Grade 11 and Grade 12 students for the School Year 2016–2017. These schools are:
| Schools | Projected no. of student slots |
| Valenzuela National High School | 621 |
| Bignay National High School | 687 |
| Malinta National High School | 338 |
| Sitero Francisco National High School | 640 |
| Valenzuela Math and Science High School | 564 |
| Dalandanan National High School | 315 |
| Wawang Pulo National High School | 240 |
“Malaki ang naitulong ng city government ng Valenzuela City sa pag-identify at pag-expropriate ng mga property na pagtatayuan ng mga bagong classrooms para sa senior high school,” Cabral said.
He added that the 14 schools contribute to the construction of the total 193 additional classrooms, which are expected to be completed in February next year, for incoming SHS students.
Citing DCS-V report released in April, Cabral noted that Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela (PLV) and Valenzuela Polytechnic College (ValPoly) both committed to let other incoming SHS students from other public high schools in Valenzuela use their facilities.
The popular local university and college made the decision to open their classrooms to around 2,300 Grades 11 and 12 students since it is expected to be vacated for two years because of the lack of first year college enrollees in the transition program. (Tim Alcantara)
