A DECREASE in enrollment in one school for several years is considered a problem. The school principal being the leader and manager in the school, needs to control this problem by finding the causes that lead to its development and look for an appropriate solution in addressing it.
As Pacquing (2009) quoted: "In any organization there is a problem, if there is a problem there must be a cause, if there is a cause it needs an appropriate solution.
For the principal to solve the problem, the teachers, parents, community and stakeholders must all be working together. If one of them was inoperative, the desired goal must be out of control. Just like when a driver drives an automobile, he uses the break to slow or stop, and press the accelerator to go faster. If any of the devices is not working, the driver would not do what it wants to do, and the automobile would be out of control (Anthony and Govindarajan; 1998 p. 1).
In one of the researches that I conducted, several factors that were revealed to the decrease in enrollment include the accessibility of schools' location, change of family residences and poor condition of school facilities. In worst cases, teacher and school administrator related factors are primary reasons why parents opt to transfer their children to other nearby public schools. Frequent absences and poor disciplinary style of teachers are the most common complaints of parents. More so, frequent suspension of classes by school heads as well as irregularities in school finances contributes to the negative outlook of parents and community leaders for the overall performance of the school.
The causes in this problem should not be tolerated by school heads especially those assigned in small schools. Instead they should consider it as a challenge as they perform their daily duties and responsibilities. Solutions should be directed on the issue at hand and school heads must not fabricate data on enrolment just to cover the problem on decreasing enrolment.
Edna L. Severo
Principal II
Lubao Elementary School