For public pre-school teacher of Wenifreda Talisaysay, the biggest difference between public and private nursery school is the cost.
Talisaysay of the Red Roses Day Care Center at barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City, said parents will only spend a little over a thousand pesos a year, to help prepare their children for formal schooling.
Private pre-school principal Cristy Alonzo of the Formation School and Kiddies Learning Center (FSKLC) in downtown Cebu City, they have a higher tuition because they have advance facilities and their students are mentored on a one-on-one basis.
Red Roses collects a total of P1,350 per child per year, while FSKLC collects P38,000.00 a year.
Nursery or pre-school is not part of the official Department of Education (DepEd) curriculum. Pre-school study is designed to prepare a child for Kindergarten, the first level in the K+12 education continuum implemented since last school year.
The DepEd however exercise some regulatory functions on pre-schools. Among these are the age requirement for pre-school children, number of students per class and monitoring of their financial statements.
With the K+12, the DepEd requires that only children below five year old must be admitted in pre-school or nursery.
Finishing nursery or pre-school is not required for admission to Kindergarten.
The DepEd though encourages parents to enroll their children in pre-school at age three to four, in Kindergarten at five and Grade One at six.
Public pre-schools are only allowed to have 30 students per class. Private pre-schools can have less. FSKLC only has 15 children per class.
To be able to enroll in a public day care center, parents are required to submit a photocopy of the child’s birth certificate and health record.
In a pubic day care center, the teachers are the ones who will receive the payment for tuition and other fees, but they are required to record it and submit a financial statement to the DepEd.
Aside from the basic school supplies that a child should buy, they are also required to buy toilet paper, rag, bath and wash soap, rubbing alcohol and toilet freshener.
Talisaysay said that they have the capacity to develop good foundation for their pupils.
“Some mothers are apprehensive that their children may not perform well in Grade 1. But until now, we have produced outstanding students. Most of our products here top their elementary classes,” Talisaysay said.
Despite the population in a public pre-school, Talisaysay said that she still can accommodate the needs of her students and keeps a record of the performance of each students.
Talisaysay shared her secret on how she deals with her students, “I have been in my teaching carreer for almost 25 years now, and I love my students, I respect them for who they are.”
“I give everything to my students. I don’t want that they will just sit in their place doing nothing. I encourage them to go to the black board and express their feelings and opinion. That’s my technique,” Talisaysay said.
Most of their students are aged three and four years old.
Children are taught the basic self-help skills like how to wash their hands, how to use a face towel, how to clean themselves and they are also taught how to use a paper and pencils.
Private pre-school
Alonso said that because they pay high tuition, parents also have high expectations to their children that is why teachers in their school are doubling their efforts to give their students a quality education.
Alonso said that as early as 3 or 4 years old, nursery students in their school can read CVC or consonant-vowel-consonant sounds.
“We really equip our students with the things they need compared to public schools,” Alonso said.
Alonso said that in their school, as young as nursery students, they are already entitled to perform and speak on stage. They do not choose or select the performers on stage, but everyone is encouraged to participate since they are only few.
“Parents can expect their children that they will know how to talk, and read. They can have simple phrase and sentences., memorization of poems and rhymes,” Alonso said.
As a value-driven school, Alonso said that they also inculcate respect and values to their students.
Students are entitled to participate in public speaking in their school because they hone students to become good speakers in the future.
Just like a public day care center, nursery students are also taught self-help skills.
As early as three years old, Alonso said that their students are already taught math, reading and science. Physical education, music, writing and arts also taught.
FSKLC just like a public day care center also has a play area for their students, however, they have an exclusive pre-school library where the pre-school students can read bed time and children stories which a day care center doesn’t have. /Christine Emily L. Pantaleon, Correspondent