This is the second part of a series of columns that I will devote to the Leyte High School (now the Leyte National High school).

As a graduate of LHS, I find it a joy and worthwhile to write about it especially at this time when it recently turned 100 years old.

As I mentioned last week, I had mixed feelings when I attended the Grand Centennial Alumni Homecoming of LHS last Dec. 27 and 28.

It was a mixture of joy and sadness. It was a joyous celebration as shown by the parties (eating, chatting, dancing, laughing, etc.) celebrated by each batch (I reckon batches from 1932 to 2004 were represented; that’s a record 72 batches).

However, it was saddening to note that the main building (Gabaldon type) of LHS is in a sorry state of disrepair. It’s a hazard to the students and teachers since floors had broken slots, ceilings were leaking, the flooring in the quadrangle were cracked in many parts, the chairs made of iron and wood were rusty and so forth. This building where many alumni spent hours upon hours of studying was in a much better state in those years we used it.

I recall our principal then was Mrs. Maria Petilla, mother-in-law of Congresswoman Matin Petilla (who has allotted an amount for the repair of this building).

Such classrooms as they are now are not conducive to quality education.

Roger Docena, a classmate who spent 26 years in the US Navy and now lives in Oceanside, California said this building would be condemned and declared unfit for occupancy if it were located in the US.

The repair of this building should be a priority of the Alumni Association.

There are other obvious needs of the school such as a concrete road at the second gate leading to the Gymnasium.

What we saw at LHS was an indication of the urgent need to improve substantially the facilities in public schools.

Making secondary education free has resulted in the mushrooming of high schools and the deterioration of facilities as the secondary age population continues to grow.

If the Alumni Association acts on these needs, all these deficiencies can be remedied even with a minimum of assistance from the government.

The same can be said of other alumni associations in relation to what they can do to improve the quality of education.