MANILA, Philippines—The perennial classroom shortage—and not the expected traffic congestion—might force some public schools in the metropolis to divide their student population in half and hold classes only three days a week for each grouping.
To accommodate all enrollees, some of the most congested schools particularly in Caloocan City have proposed this scheme, which quickly drew opposition from parents, according to Luz Almeda, Department of Education regional director for Metro Manila.
“The three-day school week is for the worst-case scenario,” Almeda told reporters Tuesday, a week before the opening of classes on June 2.
Under the proposed schedule, half of the student population will go to school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while the other half will have classes on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. They will have to spend longer hours in class to compensate for their shortened week.
But because of the early opposition to the idea, the DepEd has deferred action until its officials see the actual size of enrollment. “We will know on June 2,” Almeda said.
No to MMDA proposal
Meanwhile, the department turned down an earlier proposal from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to implement a four-day school week in areas that are expected to experience heavy traffic due to major road projects.
“We will not implement a four-day school week for School Year 2014-2015 in Metro Manila,” said Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo, noting that public schools generally do not contribute to the traffic problem since their students usually come from areas near the campuses.
Mateo said schools that would be directly affected by the construction projects would have the discretion to adjust their schedules, so long as they meet the required minimum “contact time” of 180 days.
Almeda said the proposed three-day work week would still satisfy the 180-day requirement because the class hours would be extended.
Under that setup, the teachers would still get two days off in a week, she said.
Two years ago, when she assumed her post, many schools already adopted a three-shift class schedule (morning, afternoon and night), she recalled. Some even had a fourth shift since they could not turn away enrollees, Almeda recalled.
A school that has 60 to 70 students crammed in a classroom is considered congested by the DepEd, which puts the ideal class size at 45 in high school and 35 in elementary.
But the congestion problem had somehow eased in recent years in Metro Manila with the construction of four- or five-story school buildings. Of the 865 public schools in the capital, only one campus still holds three-class shifts, 743 do two shifts, while the rest can afford to have the standard one-class shift.
There’s money but no space
“We have the budget for classrooms but no more space for new buildings,” Mateo explained.
Of the three million elementary and high school students in Metro Manila, two-thirds are enrolled in the 865 public schools. There are nearly 2,000 private schools in the capital.
For the coming school year, DepEd has identified 20 congested schools in Metro Manila.
These are the Sampaloc Site II Elementary School (ES) in Parañaque City, Payatas B ES Quezon City, Bagong Tanyag (Annex B) Taguig City, Pres. Corazon Aquino ES in Quezon City, Bagong Tanyag ES (Annex A) in Taguig City, San Diego ES in Quezon City, Bagong Silang ES Caloocan City;
Caloocan North ES Caloocan City, Don Galo ES Parañaque City, Libis Baesa ES (Baesa Annex) Caloocan City, Sto. Niño National High School Marikina, Tinajeros National HS (Acacia Annex) Malabon City, Potrero National HS Malabon City, Holy Spirit Nation HS Quezon City;
Catmon Integrated School Malabon City, San Bartolome HS Quezon City, Captain Albert Aguilar National HS Las Piñas, Kalayaan National HS Las Piñas, North Fairview HS Quezon City and Sampaguita HS Caloocan City.