By IINA,
Shariff Aguak, Mindanao : A government-funded Islamic school (madrasah), which can accommodate up to 1,500 students, is being constructed here and is expected to be completed in time for the school opening in June, officials said. “Construction work is being rushed up so the buildings could already be used in two months time,” said Sheik Mohamad Faried Adas, undersecretary for madaris (plural of madrasah) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). He said the construction of the buildings on land donated by Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan has received an allocation of P15 million.
Adas said that when completed, the Islamic school — which will be named the Shariff Aguak Bin Ampatuan Memorial Academy — will feature 21 classrooms for the elementary and secondary levels and 10 classrooms for college students. He said a total of 32 madaris teachers, school officials, and staff will man the state-run school. Located within the town proper, the academy is a pilot project of the government in the ARMM under the Department of Education Order 51 issued in 2004. The order mandates the implementation of the standard madrasah curriculum in public schools in the six-province region. “Construction work is being done by administration in order to fast-track its completion. The project would serve as a legacy for the youth so they could learn Arabic and become true-educated Muslim Filipinos who adhere to peaceful co-existence (with non-Muslims),” said Acting ARMM Education Secretary Udtog Kawit.
Ampatuan, who has been closely supervising the project, said he hoped that with the establishment of the school, new generations of Maguindanaons will not experience what he went through as a school dropout. “I now realize the value of education and I want my constituents to develop and become professionals in various fields,” said Ampatuan.
Meanwhile, ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Andal Ampatuan’s son, ordered the release of P100 million for the construction of additional school buildings in the provinces of Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, and Lanao del Sur.
The ARMM governor said the money for the school building program came from Malacañang and was expected to fund the construction of 200 additional classrooms in time for the resumption of classes in June. He said he also authorized town mayors to implement their own school building projects to address the lack of classrooms in the region.