Consistent to his commitment that in Valenzuela, no one will be left behind in education, City Mayor REX Gatchalian inaugurates three new public high schools this first quarter of 2017.

In two separate city-wide celebrations, the public high schools Justice Eliezer R. delos Santos National High School, Veinte Reales National High School, and Arkong Bato National High School were inaugurated, to showcase how serious the local government is in prioritizing education in the city.

In January, the Justice Eliezer R. delos Santos NHS and Veinte Reales NHS were inaugurated under the banner program, “Tuloy-tuloy na Asenso sa Birthday ni Mayor REX.”

This month, on the 14th, the simultaneous inauguration of Arkong Bato NHS and Barangay Arkong Bato covered court shall be among the meaningful highlights of the 19^th Charter Day celebration week.

Alongside the opening of these three new schools, Mayor REX assured the citizens that all barangays in the city with ‘significant population’ will have their own high schools. As of this date, the city has 42 elementary schools and 25 high schools. 

According to the Department of Education (DepEd) – Valenzuela, the Arkong Bato NHS which has just opened 16 new classrooms anticipates to accommodate 613 students this coming school year. On the other hand, the absorptive capacity of Justice Eliezer R. delos Santos NHS with 16 new classrooms is at 720, while the Veinte Reales NHS’ nine new classrooms is at 405.

In Valenzuela City, the average student-classroom ratio in high school is presently at 30:1; while in elementary, it is at 40:1. The city outperforms the National Capital Region’s (NCR) average student-classroom ratio in high school which is currently pegged at 45:1.

Unlike other recently opened high school buildings in the city, the Veinte Reales NHS was constructed with provisions for disaster preparedness. Its four-storey building has two auxiliary rooms, a multi-purpose hall, toilets with shower, and a big kitchen, which make the school evacuation-ready.

Meanwhile, the Justice Eliezer R. delos Santos NHS sited on the boundaries of Barangays Ugong and Gen. T. de Leon was named after one of the Valenzuela’s former municipal councilors in 1968 who also served as a Court of Appeals Associate Justice in 2000.