Tuesday, June 05, 2007 New schoolyear, same old problems
EVEN as Department of Education (DepEd) 7 Director Carolino Mordeno described yesterday’s opening of classes in public elementary and high schools as smooth, the same old problems hounded many areas in Metro Cebu and Central Visayas.
Shortage of classrooms and teachers and problems with late enrollees are the most obvious, although Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s consultant on education described these as minor hitches, at least in Cebu City.
In Lahug Elementary School, where a school building project was stopped by the mayor, classes for Grades 2, 3 and 4 were divided into two sessions: from 6 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. and from 12:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
“We can cope with the problem (of shortage of classrooms) but the teachers and students will have to make some adjustments,” officer-in-charge Imelda Binobo said.
Rubble from the demolition of the old school building also posed risks to students, with some scrap GI sheets, pieces of wood with nails and other construction materials left on the school grounds where children gather.
Binobo instructed school personnel to construct a temporary fence around the rubble and put up signs and warning devices to keep students from getting near it.
Young assured school officials that they will clear the school grounds soon, recognizing the risks it poses to students.
“Other than that, there were no major complaints or problems reported yesterday, so I guess the first day of classes went well. We rarely have problems in the city because our education department is very organized, they always plan ahead,” he said.
And while Talamban National High School principal Nympha Balili is happy with the 10 percent increase of enrollees in her school, she admitted a shortage of classrooms that prompted her to increase class sizes.
Mandaue City Schools Division Superintendent Serena Uy also observed that there were oversized classes in some schools, with some reaching to more than 80 students that can’t be split yet because of lack of teachers.
Some 30,600 elementary school pupils and over 10,000 high school students reported for school in Mandaue City.
Cabancalan Elementary School did not have a shortage of teachers and classrooms, but guidance counselor Fredesvina Jocolan said they have students who still need to complete some requirements last school year to claim their report cards.
Late enrollees crowded almost all schools in Metro Cebu and the region, with Lapu-Lapu City School Superintendent Leonilo Oliva saying they will still entertain them and assign them to classrooms in a slightly crowded state.
“Mas mayo nang huot kay sa magklase ta half day (It’s better to have an overcrowded class than divide the school day),” he said.
Lapu-Lapu welcomed 55,893 students spread in 24 high schools and 44 elementary schools.
In Bais City, Negros Oriental, Mordeno said there is a shortage of teachers since services of contractual teachers have yet to be renewed.
An increase of enrollees was observed in Cebu City, he admitted, but the division lacks classrooms to accommodate them.
Double shift
“As temporary measure, class size will increase and facilities such as libraries and laboratories will be used as instruction areas until classrooms are available,” Mordeno stressed.
Some schools can also adopt the “double shift” policy and conduct classes in the morning and afternoon or evening, he added.
In Central Visayas, DepEd needs 1,439 classrooms to accommodate elementary school pupils and 2,529 for high school students.
Elementary schools need 1,360 teachers and high schools need 1,002 teachers.
Meanwhile, patrol cars from the Mobile Patrol Group were tasked to provide police visibility in different schools in Cebu City yesterday.
Chief Insp. Arnel Banzon told reporters he directed his operatives to stay near the schools’ vicinity at 7 a.m., before noontime, late afternoon and at 9 a.m. to secure the students.
Banzon and Acting Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador said they did not receive reports of untoward incidents related to the school opening. (LCR/AAG/OCP/NRC/JST)
