LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Access to modern technology such as the Internet, Wi-Fi zones and multifunction cell phones in urban centers did not make the students of Albay fare better than those who only hear the sound of crickets in the barrios.
Students in far-flung and upland public elementary and high schools in fact proved they were way ahead of their urban counterparts in Albay, results from the 2010 National Achievement Test (NAT) showed.
This prompted Albay Governor Joey Salceda to mull on implementing in the province what he dubbed as the “Cinderella Rule,” or barring students from entering Internet cafés and computer game zones from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
“There are no Internet cafés in these far-flung barangays so pupils really spend more time on their studies after doing household chores like fetching water, washing dishes,” Salceda noted.
Proposed measure
“Precisely why I have proposed for the approval of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan the measure called ‘Cinderella Rule’ that would penalize Internet pubs and similar establishments if they admit persons below 17 or are still in the basic education cycle between 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.,” said Salceda.
The NAT results showed that Villapaz Elementary School, in an upland village of the outskirt town of Jovellar, topped all the other elementary schools in Albay in mathematics.
Also in the top rank were Matalipni Elementary School in Malinao town for English; Belen Elementary School in Tiwi, Kidaco Elementary School in Daraga, for Filipino; and Bariw Elementary school in Libon town for heyograpiya, kasaysayan at sibika (Hekasi).
Rural schools also topped the NAT for the high school level.
The Mamlad National High School in Jovellar, some 40 kilometers from this city, was No. 1 for both English and Filipino subjects, while Pantao National High School in Libon, the westernmost town of Albay, topped the list in performance for science.
Second best in science was also garnered by Mancao National High School in the island-town of Rapu-Rapu while the second best slots for English and Filipino were taken by Bicol Regional Science High School in downtown Ligao City, a fourth class city 30 km from Legazpi.
The third, fourth and fifth places for English and Science were not listed but Legazpi City High School took third place for Filipino.
Mancao National High School in Rapu-Rapu landed also fourth place for Filipino and fifth place for Filipino was garnered by Libon Private High School in downtown Libon, Albay.
Ranking
The 2010 Special Awards for Elementary Level ranks the Department of Education’s Legazpi City Division as 42nd nationwide.
Albay also now ranked 64th in the DepEd NAT, a big leap from the 177th place it occupied in 2007, Salceda earlier noted.
NAT is given annually in March. The students’ knowledge and skills are tested in the subjects of math, English, science, Filipino and Hekasi for grade school and math, English, science, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan for high school.
The test is a means to assess the competency of both public and private school students and to guide DepEd on how to improve the quality of education in public schools.