Same old problems surface as schools reopen
MANILA, Philippines — New school year, same old problems.
As classes resumed yesterday, the problems about the lack of classrooms, teachers and textbooks resurfaced.
In an inspection of five of the city’s public elementary and high schools, Chief Superintendent George Regis, Quezon City Police District director, observed that the schools were congested.
At the Batasan High School which has 9,000 students, some of them were seated on the floor due to the lack of chairs.
Regis described the opening of classes as “generally peaceful” with no immediate reports of crimes such as robbery or physical harm.
Meanwhile, Commonwealth Elementary School principal Rodolfo Modelo said that although their student population increased from 8,500 to 9,500, the 74–classroom school managed to accommodate everyone by holding the classes in shifts.
One of the reasons Modelo attributed for the increase in the student body was the increase in kindergarten students, from 200 last year to 673 this year. The Department of Education (DepEd) made kindergarten mandatory public schools this year.
In Manila, Department of Education officials went around some of the city’s schools to ensure the smooth opening of classes.
Joining Education Secretary Armin Luistro in attending the flag ceremony at P. Gomez Elementary School in Sta. Cruz, Manila were DepEd National Capital Region officer in charge Elena Ruiz, District of Manila Schools superintendent Ponciano Menguito and Mayor Alfredo Lim.
“The [Education] secretary informed the teachers of the start of the K+12 (Kindergarten plus 12) program and Mayor Lim was invited,” Menguito told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
He said that of the 71 elementary schools in Manila, only eight did not offer preschool education in the past years. But this year, all of the schools will offer kindergarten classes.
“Next year, [incoming Grade One pupils] will not be allowed [without having completed kindergarten first],” he added.
Menguito said that the education department was getting enough support from the local government as it was subsidizing teachers’ salaries.
“Bigger schools get P40,000 for their emergency needs. Others would get P30,000 and still some get P20,000 depending on the size of the school,” he said.
He added that these funds would address small concerns such as defective lights for classrooms or broken glass windows.
Menguito attributed the orderly opening of classes to meetings with school principals, early preparation and proper coordination with police and traffic authorities.
He added that there was no shortage of classrooms reported in Manila except for Baseco Elementary School.
A kindergarten teacher for nearly 30 years, Baby Dimapawi braced herself for another wave of children either eager or too shy to step into her classroom at Barangay Valenzuela in Makati City yesterday morning.
As soon as they settled into their seats, the students started getting acquainted with each other and the layout of the classroom where they will spend about two and a half hours from Monday to Friday for the next few months, the teacher said.
“We want to see the children feel the classroom atmosphere. By Wednesday, classes will be more formal so we can accommodate more students, particularly those who still want to apply,” she said in an interview.
In Muntinlupa City, Mayor Aldrin San Pedro said the school opening was uneventful, owing to the efficiency of city hall personnel who assisted students and parents as they brought their children to school.
“Most of our schools are in the inner streets so instead of deploying the police to direct traffic, I asked them to pay attention to the national road,” he said over the phone.
San Pedro said the Muntinlupa National High School Annex at the Southville relocation received a lot of students, prompting him to talk to Representative Rodolfo Biazon about the need to build more classrooms.
The surge of enrollees was unexpected, according to the mayor. He explained that the increase was due to residents who moved into the area and transferees.
In Taguig City, the DepEd office set up assistance desks to deal with various problems, said DepEd Taguig-Pateros administrative officer George Pizon.
“The help desks addressed specific problems of the students so we were able to accommodate them, particularly the late enrollees,” he said in a phone interview.
Students lacking the required documents were asked to file the necessary papers within a period of time while they were temporarily assigned to a class, according to Pizon.
The official said their main concern right now was accommodating the enrollees and making sure that they would have a place in the classroom. Next week, he expects the city government to hand out school supplies to students.
National Capital Region Police Office director Chief Superintendent Alan Purisima, meanwhile, observed the school opening at Fort Bonifacio Elementary and High Schools in Makati City.
At Catmon Integrated School in Malabon City, mono bloc chairs were used to fill up the shortage in wooden armchairs so that all the 2,885 high school and elementary students, a 100 percent increase compared to the student population last year, could be accommodated.
“We still have shortages in classrooms, textbooks, chairs and teachers. But we are finding ways to solve this,” school principal Ammie Villafranca said. With Jaymee T. Gamil, Maricris Irene V. Tamolang, Niña Calleja and Miko L. Morelos
