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Monday, April 11, 2005
Education dep't notes Cebu lacks pre-schools
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
CEBU CITY -- In the absence of government funding for pre-schools, fewer than 400 of Cebu's more than 1,000 elementary schools are offering early training to children under the public school system.
Department of Education (DepEd) 7 records show that the 369 elementary schools account for only one-third of the total 1,049 schools province-wide.
Gaps in early education endanger future generations: An international aid agency warns that many kids enter the formal education system though they aren't ready to do so.
Of the six cities, Cebu, Toledo and Talisay have more pre-schools, with 38, 21 and 12, respectively.
The cities of Danao and Mandaue have five each, while only two out of 26 elementary schools in Lapu-Lapu offer a pre-school program.
DepEd 7 Director Carolino Mordeno said that since pre-school is not mandatory, they have left it to local government units and Parents-Teachers Community Associations (PTCAs) to put up one in public schools.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), in a report published last week, cited statistics showing that one of five barangays in the Philippines does not have pre-school programs.
This, warned Unicef, reflects a problem that government needs to address if it wants to produce bright citizens and leaders.
It noted that the fact that the highest dropout rate and repetition rates occur in the first grade indicates "poor school readiness and inadequate preparation for learning."
The report also cited as a problem the fact that six of 10 Filipino children cannot afford early childhood education.
Dr. Mercy Sasam, DepEd 7's elementary division chief, said most PTCA-based preschools charge a minimum of P50 monthly, which is usually for the salary of the teacher and purchase of classroom supplies.
The shortage of classrooms has also been a problem in some areas.
However, some PTCAs ask for help from their local government officials, while others take the initiative of using their barangay chapels as temporary classrooms.
Sasam also said that aside from their programs to strengthen the training in day care centers put up by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in barangays, DepEd has offered pre-school service contracting.
Under this program, the government has allocated P6,250 for a class.
The six-month program was launched last October and was intended for about 150 children of indigent families, who go to school in depressed and underserved areas.
For this school year, it benefited about 14 schools in the Cebu schools division and 10 in the Cebu City division.
But since the budget will depend on government savings and is not part of the general appropriations, Sasam said they do not have any assurance if it will be offered every year.
For now, they are urging PTCAs to start pre-schools in their community schools while the DepEd, through the school principals, can offer supervisory assistance.
As for concerns on the dropout rate, Sasam said most students leave school for health and financial reasons and not necessarily due to the inability to cope with their lessons.
With the policy of enrolling six-year olds in Grade 1, the curriculum was revised so the first two months are on lessons for kindergarten.
"It's a way to cushion their entry into formal school," Sasam explained.
(April 11, 2005 issue)
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