City Government of Valenzuela
Public Information Office
PRESS RELEASE
December 12, 2007
"New Gen. T. De Leon National High School Inaugurated"
The City Government of Valenzuela, through the tireless efforts of City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian, paves way for the construction on the new Gen. Tiburcio de Leon National High School building on a new site. The said building was inaugurated yesterda, and had been attended by city officials and faculties from the said school.
Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian, said, “The new building of Gen. T. de Leon National High School is another testament of this administration’s unending commitment to Valenzuelanos of making education not only accessible, but also with high standards of quality.”
The Gen. T. de Leon National High School is one of the few schools in the country that is solely funded by the City Government. The City Government spent more than Php29 Million for the construction of its new building and site development. The project complements the thrusts of both school officials and the LGU to modernize educational equipments and facilities, provide advance training for the teachers on modern trends and techniques in teaching, eliminate out-o-school youth, as well as attain a zero drop out rate and 100% graduation rates.
Mayor Gatchalian also stated, “What we are doing right now is an investment in the future of our City. We are investing in our youth who will, one day, take the cudgels of leadership in the various sectors of our City.”
At present, Gen. T. de Leon National High School now at a 6,000 square meter lot located near the Torres-Bugallon Bridge. It has 29 classrooms, 48 toilet bowls and 12 ancillary services. The new building is perceived to usher new development on the quality of education, not only in terms of physical facilities but also of staff and student improvement and advancement.
Through its bigger site and an increase in the number of classrooms, the status of Gen. T. de Leon National High School has been elevated from being the public school with most crowded classes in the whole of Valenzuela – with 80 students per class - to school with an average volume per class - 50 students per class at present.
According to Gen. T. de Leon National High School Principal, Mrs. Salvacion David, “The improvement is not only physical, but it also encompasses all aspects of learning of the students. We are really much delighted and proud of the result this joint effort. Now, with spacious classrooms and lesser number of students per class, we can give more personal attention to students. We salute our beloved Mayor win Gatchalian for giving importance to education the education of our youth.”
She added, “Our situation during that time was actually aggravated by the fact that teachers have to handle 80-pupil classes. And that’s far above the maximum number of students set forth by the Department of Education.”
Gen. T. National High School was previously situated in a 1,533 square meter lot donated by the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1984. However, since its population grew over the years until it reached a total of 3,368 students during the school year 2006 to 2007, with the aforementioned lot area, the school administration found it difficult to expand its facilities in order to accommodate more students.
Lauro, a 4th year student observed, “Our new school building has totally altered the state of the students, as well as made quite a difference in the attitude of our students towards learning. We thank Mayor Win Gatchalian and all other parties concerned in making this possible.”
With the current improvement, the administration and faculty of Gen. T de Leon National High School have high hopes for further developments in education of the students, making it more competitive not only locally but also nationwide.