Photo from the website of the Colegio de San Lorenzo.
Updated 6:12 p.m.
MANILA, Philippines – After Colegio de San Lorenzo’s arbitrary shutdown, students and parents left in limbo share their woes, especially with the new academic year about to begin.
CDSL students Miles Flores, Teodi Elauria, and Sophia San Diego fumed over the Quezon City school’s short-notice closure, leaving them with really no inkling of their academic standing or if they could actually graduate.
“The closure of San Lorenzo was very disappointing dahil for us students who are expecting Latin honors; it won’t be possible anymore,” Flores said on Wednesday.
(The closure of San Lorenzo was very disappointing because it won’t be possible for us students expecting Latin honors.)
He noted that the students were thrown in a tight spot by the unexpected notice of the school shutdown on the first day of classes (Monday), giving them almost no time to explore a new educational setting.
“Sobrang nakaka-disappoint dahil hindi sila nagsabi ng agad-agaran kaya napakaraming time iyong na-consume. Instead na iyong sama ng loob [ay] nabawasan dahil may time na in-allot sa amin to find a new school pero wala kasing nangyaring ganoon,” Flores added.
(It’s very disappointing since they didn’t announce it immediately. So much time was consumed. If they had announced it earlier, our ill feelings toward the school would have been reduced since we would have had more time to find a new school. But that wasn’t the case.)
Elauria then called out the school for not having a “concrete plan” following their last-minute decision to permanently close.
“Parang ang nangyari po, trial and error dahil lang po hindi na-meet iyong target na dami ng enrollees,” she said.
(What happened seemed like trial and error on their part just because they didn’t meet the target number of enrollees.)
Since most universities demand a time of residency for students hoping to qualify for honors, Elauria feels that the abrupt CDSL shutdown robs them of any chance of graduating with such recognition.
“Iyong mga magulang, magagalit po talaga kasi isipin niyo po – iyong mga fourth year or third year na may Latin honors, wala na pong chance na maka-graduate with Latin honors kasi kada-university, nagre-require po ng residency. So isipin niyo po, iyong pinaghirapan namin ng dalawang taon para lang [magkaroon ng] Latin honors is mawawala dahil lang sa kapalpakan ng Colegio de San Lorenzo,” she further explained.
(Our parents are angry because if you think about it, the fourth and third-year students running for Latin honors won’t have the chance to graduate with honors. To do so, students need to fulfill a period of residency. So if you think about it, all the hard work we’ve put in these past two years just to graduate with honors now means nothing because of CDSL’s irresponsible decision.)
San Diego has decided to move past her anger and regret over the school closure and into a better future.
“Kahit po wala talaga sa plano namin, we need to find an alternative way for us to graduate possibly on time,” she stressed.
(Even if this is not in our plan, we need to find an alternative way for us to graduate possibly on time.)
READ: Colegio de San Lorenzo in QC announces permanent closure
Meanwhile, Zel Santiago, a mother of a supposedly incoming Grade 12 student in CDSL, lamented the closure’s heavy impact on her fellow parents and their children, who are also busy preparing for their college applications.
“Wala pang tulog. Doble gastos. Super inconvenient. This affects my livelihood, kumbaga iyong negosyo. My son’s mental health, kabado siya. He’s nervous. He’s afraid to go into a new environment. Everything is unannounced, and irresponsibly made by the school without considering iyong children talaga,” she said.
(We haven’t slept. Our expenses have doubled. This is super inconvenient. This affects my livelihood and my business. My son’s mental health is also affected. He’s nervous and afraid of going into a new environment. Everything was unannounced and irresponsibly made by the school without considering the children.)
CDSL announced its permanent closure on Monday due to financial woes and low enrollment turnout over the years.
In a statement, the school assured that it will give full tuition fee refunds and “assist all students for their transfer to other schools and educational institutions by timely releasing their records and credentials for such purpose.”
For those in their college department, CDSL said they are also coordinating with other colleges and universities that can accommodate their students “to ensure a better transition to another higher educational institution.”
Several schools in and around Quezon City have since expressed willingness to welcome the CDSL students affected by the shutdown.