SULU (Mindanao Examiner / June 23, 2014) – Sulu Governor Totoh Tan on Monday handed over four classrooms to the Mudjunon Elementary School in Patikul town where teachers and students praised the young politician for his strong support to education.
Tan led the handover in a ceremony well praised by education and village officials in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. The ceremony was held in the school compound in the village of Anuling and attended by education officials led by Dr. Tim Arbison, the Schools Division Superintendent.
Village chieftain Alghambrazer Hayudini praised the project and said the additional classrooms built by Tan would benefit hundreds of students.
“Before there was only one classroom, one teacher for 28 students and now we have more than 400 students enrolled in the school and these additional classrooms really means a lot to all of us and we thanked Governor Totoh for his magnanimous support to education,” Hayudini said.
Hayudini said they still need more teachers for the growing school population. He said volunteers are currently helping teach the children.
Tan has encouraged mothers in the village to enroll their children to school. “Education is very important to all of us so I encourage all mothers to put their kids to school so our children will be able to learn and through education we shall make them good citizens and our partner in nation building and they are the future of this beautiful province we call home,” he told parents who attended the ceremony.
Many of the schools in Sulu were built by the provincial government.
The handover also coincided with the distribution of books dubbed as “Books Across The Sea” spearheaded by the Rotary International District 378 and Rotary Club of New Manila Heights in partnership with the Sulu provincial government, Department of Justice, Philippine Marines, Philippine Air Force, Philippine National Police and Special Action Force and Gawad Kalinga, among others.
Tan also inspected a road rehabilitation project of the provincial government along Serantes, Hadji Butuh and General Arolas. (Franzie Sali)
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