DESIGN CRITERIA FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Department of Education School Planning Guidelines Handbook

Chapter 1. The School
Site Section
Requirements
1.1Location/Environment.

The ideal location may be a site that provides an environment conducive to learning, as much as possible
far from cockpits, malls,
gambling dens, cinema houses, beer and videoke joints, jails, industrialestablishments, military quarters,
public markets, slaughterhouses, or garbage dumps.
1.2 Accessibility. A school site must be easily accessible to the greatest number of pupils/students.
1.3 Topography. The contour of the land should be level and should have no irregular boundaries.
1.4 Soil Condition. An agricultural land with sandy loan soil is best for school sites, as the topsoil is properly
balanced to support vegetation and permit surface drainage without erosion. The subsoil provides a proper base for economical
and substantial foundation of the buildings to be constructed on the site.
1.5Size. The minimum size of the school site is as follows:
For Urban Areas
a.) Central schools with six (6) classes and non-central school with six to ten (6-10) classes 0.5 hectare.) Schools with
eleven to twenty (11-20) classes 0.75 hectare.) Schools with more than 20 classes 1.0 hectare
1.5.2 Secondary Schools
Urban
500 students or less
0.5
501 to 1,000 pupils
1.0
1,001 to 2,000 pupils 2.0
2,001 to 3,000 pupils
3.0
Rural

General/Vocational
Agricultural
Fishery, add for projects

4.0 hectares
5.0 hectares
2.0 hectares fresh-water fishponds &0 hectares brackish water fishponds

1.6 Miscellaneous Provisions

Due to the high cost and increasing price of real property of prime lots in both rural and urban areas, contingency
arrangements should be made to comply with the minimum requirements for location and size of school site.
Section 4. Administrative and Instructional Spaces
4.1Minimum Standard Size. The minimum requirement for administrative space is five (5) square meters per person and an air space
requirement of 12.00 cubic meters per person.

4.2Allocation.The administrative space should include the following components:

School administrators office
Working area for the office staff
Supply storeroom
Conference room
Teachers room
Production room
Toilet and bath

4.3The different spaces or components of the administrative area should belaid out in proper operational relationship with each other.
Arrangement and placement of office furniture and equipment such as tables, chairs, cabinets,shelves, typewriters, mimeographing machines,
bulletin boards, computer unit Should be carefully and systematically planned to achieve maximumefficiency.
.4Minimum standards recommended for elementary school:
Classroom (elementary)-1.40 sq. m. per place
School Shop - 5.00 sq. m. per place
Administrative Office-2.40 sq. m. per place (10% of the enrolment)
Library/LRC-2.10 sq. m. per place
School Library-28.00 sq. m. gross
Medical/Dental Clinic-28.00 sq. m. gross
Corridor-above ground level, the minimum
Clear width is 2.00 m.
Computer Room- 1.4 sq. m. per place
Gymnasium-5.00 sq. m. per place
Speech Laboratory-1.4 sq. m. per place
4.5 Minimum standards recommended for secondary school:
Classroom (secondary)-1.40 sq. m. per place
Library-2.40 sq. m. per placeScience Laboratory-2.10 sq. m. per placeSecondary School
Shops:Practical Arts-5.00 sq. m. per placeTechnology and Home Economics-7.00 sq. m. per
placeGirls Trades/Homemaking-4.00 sq. m. per placeWood Trades - 2.50 sq. m. per placeMetal Trades5.00 sq. m. per placeMechanical Trades-6.50 sq. m. per placeElectrical Trades- 2.50 sq. m. per placeAu
dio-Visual Trades-2.50 sq. m. per place
Section 5. Classroom Standards (D.O. No. 19, s. 1994)
5.1The minimum classroom size shall be seven (7) maters wide by eight (8)meters long, which is
considered adequate for a class of 56 pupils. Desks or chairs may be arranged in eight (8) rows with seven (7) desks
in each row.
5.2
The design requirement prescribed in the National Building Code of schoolbuilding are the following:
5.2.1
Window opening shall be at least ten percent of the floor area of theroom, provided that such opening shall
not be less than one (1) square meter, except those in toilets and baths which should be not less than onet w e n t i e t h o f t h e f l o o r a r e a o f s u c h r o o m s , o r n o t l e s s t h a n 2 4 0 s q u a r e millimeters.T h e
w i n d o w s s h a l l b e l o c a t e d o n b o t h o f t h e l o n g e r s i d e o f t h e classrooms, provided with
glass, steel, or wood jalousies. The windowopenings shall be at least 1.5 meters high, and from column to
column inwidth. For classrooms with valuable equipment inside, the addition of irongrills would be advisable. In
any case, at least one (1) classroom for any school shall be fitted out with iron grills for safety purposes and
with door locks as well.
5.2.2
The ceiling height of rooms with natural ventilation shall not be lessthan 2.70 meters measured from the floor to the ceiling;
ceiling heightnot less than 2.40 meters.The ceiling shall be a dropped ceiling. The ceiling height of rooms with
natural ventilation shall not be less than 2.85 meters measured fromthe floor the ceiling; rooms provided
with artificial ventilation shall haveceiling heights less than 2.40
meters.T h e f l o o r c o n s t r u c t i o n s h a l l b e s o f r a m e d a n d s e c u r e d i n t o t h e framework and
supporting walls so as to form an integral part pf the wholebuilding, and the type of floor construction used shall provide means to

keepthe beam and girders from lateral buckling. The floor of the classrooms shallbe at least .075 meter thick concrete slab of
integrally poured cement, on a2 gravel fill, preferably with dark red or dark green cement finish.
5.2.3
All roofs shall be framed and tied into framework and supportingwalls to form an integral part of the whole
building; dark stops, roof drains,flushing, etc., shall be provided.The roof shall be cathedral type, with a slope of
not less than 1.5over 3.5, of galvanized iron gauze #26, and painted with dark green roof paint. The
roof overhang shall not be less than 1.50 meters where exit doorsare located, and not less than 1.20 meters along the rear of the
classroom.T h e r o o f c o n s t r u c t i o n s h a l l b e f r a m e d a n d t i e d i n t o t h e f r a m e w o r k a n d supportin
g walls so as to form an integral part of the building. The roof frame shall preferably be at least 20 mm. thick steel
frame, or alternatively 5cm. x 1.25 cm. (2 x 5) thick wood frames.
5.2.4
The doors to the classrooms shall be at least two (2), located on opposite ends on the same side of the of
the classroom, or flush type swingout, and with a minimum opening of .90 meters by 2.10 meters. The door
shutters shall swing in the direction of the exit travel and be capable of opening at least 90 degrees, so that the
clear width of the exit way out is notless than 700 millimeters. No door shutter exceed 1.20 m. in width.
5.2.5
Every corridor shall not be less than 1.10 meters wide and should beunobstructed.
5.2.6
S t a i r w a y s s e r v i n g a n o c c u p a n t l o a d o f 5 0 o r l e s s m u s t b e 1 . 1 0 meters wide; those serving
more than 5 shall not be less than 1.50 meters.The rise of every step shall not exceed 200 millimeters and the tread
shallnot be less than 250 millimeters. Handrails should be provided on each sideof every stairway having more than four steps.
5.2.7
The exterior walls shall be of 1.5 meter (6) wide concrete hollowblocks, with 12 mm. (1/2)
reinforcing bars with .60 meters spacing. The finish may either tooled finish or plastered finish. The interior
wall partitionsshall be of at least 10 cm. (4) concrete hollow blocks with reinforcing bars.
5.2.8
T h e c o l u m n s s h a l l b e a t l e a s t . 0 6 s q . m e t e r s ( 9 6 s q . i n c h e s ) reinforced concrete,
preferably .20 meters x .30 meters with four (4) 16 mm.vertical bars and 10 mm. lateral ties with -0.15 outside centers.
Section 6. Sanitary Facilities6.1
Provisions should be given for toilets, safe drinking, washing and cleaningas well as the abundant water supply and water waste disposal
systems.
6.2
There should be one (1) urinal, one (1) lavatory, one (1) toilet seat per classroom for elementary and secondary schools.
6.3
There should be one (1) male and one (1) female facility per classroom for elementary and secondary schools.