200 new kindergarten teachers to be hired

TACLOBAN CITY—The Department of Education (DepEd) in Eastern Visayas will hire over 200 new kindergarten teachers in preparation for the implementation of the K to 12 program starting this school year.

Rebecca Ragrag, officer in charge of the regional DepEd policy, planning and research division, said the Department of Budget and Management had allotted funds for 207 kindergarten teacher positions for  provinces and cities in Region 8.

Of the more than 200 teachers who will be hired, 56 will be assigned to Leyte, 46 for Samar, 43 for Northern Samar, 25 for Eastern Samar, 15 for Southern Leyte and three for Biliran, Ragrag said.

The regional DepEd will also hire 10 kindergarten teachers for Calbayog City, six for Ormoc City, five for Tacloban City and one for Maasin City.

New cities in the region—Catbalogan in Samar; Borongan in Eastern Samar and Baybay in Leyte—will remain under the jurisdiction of their respective provincial schools divisions.

According to Ragrag, more than 80,000 children have enrolled in kindergarten.

Of the 82,455 enrolled children, 26,984 came from Leyte; 13,706 from Northern Samar; 12,750 from Samar; 10,466 from Eastern Samar; 5,634 from Southern Leyte, and 3,020 from Biliran, Ragrag said.

On the other hand, there were 3,684 enrollees in Calbayog City; 2,914 in Ormoc City; 1,866 in Tacloban City, and 1,431 in Maasin City.  Joey Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas