All 17 congressional districts in Central Visayas chipped in to come up with a budget of P510 million to build new classrooms and renovate school buildings that were damaged or destroyed by Typhoon Odette in December 2021.

Department of Education Regional Director Dr. Salustiano Jimenez disclosed that the amount will also cover the procurement of furniture or chairs needed in classrooms.

" Our only part in DepEd is to monitor closely, so that all these projects will be fast-tracked so we can use them immediately. In fact, our target should have been before the opening of classes," Jimenez said.

He added that Department of Public Works and Highways will implement the infrastructure projects, but the education agency will closely monitor the project's progress.

He cited more than 6,000 classrooms that were damaged by typhoon Odette and less than 1,000 dilapidated classrooms that need to be repaired.

There are over 100,000 classrooms in around 3,000 public schools in Central Visayas.

As of September 5,there were 1.91 million students enrolled in the region or 86.8 percent of their target of 2.2 million students.

The school divisions in Central Visayas are Bohol Province, Tagbilaran City, Siquijor Province, Bais City, Bayawan City, Canlaon City, Dumaguete City, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental Province, Tanjay City, Bogo City, Danao City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu City, Cebu Province,Talisay City, City of Naga, Carcar City and Toledo City.