Wednesday, June 04, 2008 Lapus assures enough teachers this school year
WITH barely a week to go before this year’s opening of classes, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said there are enough teachers to man public elementary and secondary schools nationwide despite reports that more students from the private sector are set to transfer to the public sector due to the high cost of tuition.
Lapus said the current teacher-student ratio stood at 1:36 and this would be further augmented by the hiring of about 10,868 teachers to add to the current teaching personnel of 480,433.
“We are gaining ahead in our efforts to address these problems especially since 1.9 million Filipinos added to our population on an annual basis and who in a few years time will be of school age. I assure the public that there was no shortage of teachers in the country,” Lapus said, considering the outflow of teachers who work abroad even in such jobs as domestic workers and caregivers.
The Department of Education (DepEd) said about 30,000 new graduates take the Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET) annually making up for whatever shortfall or outflow.
In the area of creating new teacher items, Lapus said this year the department has already set 17,000 new items upped from the 2007 and 2006 figures of 16,334 and 8,167, respectively.
Priority will be given by DepEd to hiring graduates who are majors in English, Mathematics and Science.
To further improve school management, DepEd has decreased the number of schools without principal items this school year.
“For 2008, we hope to further decrease the number of public schools without principals from last year’s 49 percent or about 20,741 of the total through the creation of 3,903 new items, the biggest since 2002,” he said.
In 2006, about 58 percent of schools or 24,644 have no principals thereby hindering the implementation of much needed reforms in the field.
Earlier, the education chief allayed fears of a classroom shortage this school year amid the influx of students.
He said the additional 10,472 classrooms that are being erected should be able to address this “migration" or surge of students moving out of the more expensive private school institutions.
Current inventory of classrooms totaled 421,034.
DepEd aims for classroom-student ratio of 1:45 this school year down from the previous 1:50.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), DepEd Regional Director Teresita Domalanta said 1,522 school buildings are being constructed and set to be turned over to the department in time for next week’s opening.
The new classrooms, would somewhat ease the shortage of 2,964 classrooms, which could accommodate up to 300,000 students.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) ordered an intensified sidewalk clearing all over Metro Manila as part of the agency’s contribution to the “Oplan Balik Eskwela” program even as it reminded the public and motorists to be aware of the “Pink Line” project.
MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando said he has ordered the agency’s Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group (Scog) headed by Director Roberto Esquivel to clear sidewalks of all traffic obstruction for the safety of the two million students who will be going back to their schools on June 10.
“We want to clear the sidewalks to provide safety for our students who will be going to their schools next week,” Fernando said, adding that the possible danger to students who are forced to use the roadways in walking instead of the sidewalks cluttered by obstruction.
Fernando noted that if the sidewalks are free of obstruction then traffic will move much faster and in an orderly manner.
“I am also appealing to vendors not to use the sidewalks in peddling their goods and to motorists not to park their vehicles so as not to block pedestrians,” he said. (AH/Sunnex)
