MILLIONS of students returned to public schools yesterday after nearly three years of blended learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, facing the same challenges like classroom shortages and lack of school personnel, especially teachers.
As of yesterday morning, the DepEd, through its Learner Information System, said 22,917,725 students have enrolled in 44,931 public and 12,162 private schools across the country.
The PNP said the opening of classes throughout the country yesterday was generally peaceful.
“So far, the opening of classes was smooth and generally peaceful,” PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo said during the Laging Handa public briefing.
“As we speak, there are police assistance desks established nationwide,” said Fajardo.
Calabarzon still had the highest number of enrollees at 3,488,180, followed by Central Luzon with 2,626,684 and the National Capital Region with 2,497,178.
The Cordillera Administrative Region had the lowest number of enrollees with 355,728.
The DepEd expects 28. 8 million students to enroll this school year, which began a few weeks ago for some private schools.
There were also 1,541 enrollments in Philippine schools in foreign countries.
In the previous academic year, the department said there were 28.4 million enrollees.
“The final count will only be established once all reports are in. That will take around two weeks. And the ongoing late enrolment contributes to a longer time of having the final number,” DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas said.
PERENNIAL PROBLEMS
Many students were confronted with the same problem that had bedeviled previous administrations, particularly the shortage of classrooms that resulted in congestion and shifting of classes.
Earlier, Bringas said classroom shortage in public schools now stands at 159,000, up from the previous year’s 91,000.
But Bringas said the 159,000 is an “accumulated’ shortage over the years and includes the 440 classrooms damaged by typhoons and other natural calamities this year.
At the Nagpayong Elementary School in Pasig City, second home to 11,800 students, one of the biggest student populations in the country, Principal Emelita Medina said they expect more teachers to join the work force. The school population previously currently stands at 11,281.
“Right now, we have enough classrooms. But our student population is increasing, so we are expecting additional teachers,” Medina said.
At the Paranaque National High School-Main campus in Paranaque City, more than 16,000 students were enrolled as of last week.
The school has 379 classrooms to accommodate the students who will be taught by 558 teachers, including 344 in junior high school and 214 in senior high school.
For now, school officials said they have enough classrooms to accommodate the students.
However, at the Dona Damiana De Leon Macam Memorial Elementary School in Calumpit, Bulacan, the almost 700 students have to make do with just eight classrooms, with six other classrooms and the front area of the school still flooded in the wake of the recent typhoons Egay and Falcon.
“We will try to pursue lessons that we were not able to tackle in the resumption of regular classes,” teacher Violeta Oronce told GMA 7 television’s “24 Oras,” adding they do not expect conditions to improve soon due to coming typhoons.
Classes in the school will be held on a shift basis, with the students’ school hours reduced from six to four.
Blended learning — three days of in-person learning and two days at home — is being implemented at the Batasan National High School in Quezon City to accommodate the more than 18,000 students. Last year, the school had 15,117 students.
Earlier, the DepEd said schools in congested areas or those with large student populations can conduct classes in shifts or through blended learning.
In the Bicol region, 17 schools are still being used as evacuation centers.
To recall, thousands of residents in Albay province fled their homes and were forced to stay in temporary shelters, including schools, since June this year due to the eruption of Mayon Volcano, which is still restive.
LACK OF PERSONNEL
Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list Rep. France Castro expressed concern over the glaring lack of teachers and education support personnel in public schools during her school rounds on the opening of classes yesterday.
The Malabayan bloc lawmaker visited Batasan Hills National High School, President Corazon Aquino Elementary School, and Melencio Castelo Elementary School, where she witnessed the urgent need for additional personnel such as nurses and guidance counselors.
She said the class size is averaging 50 students per class “and there are hardly any registered nurses or qualified guidance counselors.”
“Normally, it is the teachers who are still given these tasks. According to the Department of Health, the ideal nurse-to-patient ratio should be 1:12 but in schools it is normally hundreds to zero,” Castro said.
Castro called on the Department of Education led by Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte to urgently address the shortage of teachers and education support personnel by implementing a comprehensive hiring program instead of “surveilling students and teachers.”
Camarines Sur Luis Raymund Villafuerte asked the House leadership to include in its priorities the passage of his two bills seeking to increase the salaries of some 800,000 public school teachers and make permanent their teaching supplies’ allowance.
Villafuerte and fellow CamSur representatives have authored House Bill (HB) 1851 mandating a significant increase in the salary grade level of public elementary and high school teachers from Grade 11 to Grade 19 amid the continuous rise in the cost of living.
They likewise authored HB 1849 which seeks to make permanent the school supplies’ allowance of P5,000 that public school teachers have been entitled to during the COVID-19 pandemic to lessen their burden in coughing up their personal money to deliver education services during the hybrid learning system of face-to-face and remote or online teaching.
This bill further provides for a continuous increase in the annual allowance for teaching supplies over the succeeding SYs.
MATATAG CURRICULUM
The DepEd is set to pilot test the new “Matatag” curriculum which the department has touted as a way to “decongest” the current curriculum.
Earlier, DepEd Bureau of Curriculum Development Jocelyn Andaya said the new curriculum will be pilot-tested in 30 schools in six regions in the country.
The revamped curriculum, which will be adopted in phases until 2028, reduced the competencies that students need to master following a two-year study conducted by DepEd.
The DepEd has tapped 117 specialists, 533 teachers, school heads and supervisors, 126 consultants, 205 external experts, 180 private schools and organizations, and seven international experts to conduct the review.
The revamped curriculum reduced the learning areas in the early levels from seven to five to include Language, Reading and Literacy, Mathematics, Makabansa, and Good Manners and Right Conduct.
The current curriculum has seven competencies, namely, Mother Tongue, Filipino, English, Mathematics, Araling Panlipunan, MAPEH, and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao.
The revised curriculum will also integrate peace competencies, highlighting the DepEd’s promotion of non-violent actions and the development of conflict resolution skills in learners.
Meanwhile, the curriculum review for Grades 11 to 12 or the Senior High School is underway.
‘EMBO’ SCHOOLS
The opening of classes in public schools located in the “EMBO’ barangays that were the subject of a territorial dispute between Makati and Taguig also went well.
Bringas, who visited the EMBO schools, said the opening of classes proceeded without a hitch.
“No problem whatsoever. They are doing fine,’’ he said.
“We should not let them be in the middle of any controversy but make them focus on their studies,” Bringas said, adding the transition committee created by Duterte to handle the transition of the 14 schools from Makati to Taguig is also doing its job.
“Both cities are cooperating,” he said.
The affected schools are the Makati Science High School, Comembo Elementary School, Rizal Elementary School, Pembo Elementary School, Benigno ‘Ninoy” Aquino High School, Tibagan High School, Fort Bonifacio Elementary School, Fort Bonifacio High School, Pitogo Elementary School, Pitogo High School, Cembo Elementary School, East Rembo Elementary School, West Rembo Elementary School, and South Cembo Elementary School.
‘BARE BONES’ ROOMS
Students returning to schools will also be greeted by the “bare walls” policy ordered by Duterte wherein public school teachers have been directed to remove posters, tarpaulins, visual aids and pictures of national heroes and even past and present presidents from classroom walls.
In an interview over Teleradyo, DepEd Undersecretary and spokesperson Michael Poa said they have yet to receive reports of teachers who failed or refused to comply with Duterte’s order.
POLICE VISIBILITY
The PNP said more than 32,000 PNP personnel were deployed to ensure security during the opening of classes.
The policemen were tasked to ensure the safety of students, parents and education personnel against possible crimes.
“Guided by an unyielding dedication to public safety, we are fully prepared to create a secure and conducive environment for our students as they embark on another year of learning,” said PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr.
Some 6,159 police assistance desks were also established in the vicinity of the schools.
“These assistance desks are designed to provide immediate support and guidance to the school community, ensuring swift response during any concerns or emergencies,” said Acorda.
Acorda said the PNP remains to be “resolute in our duty to ensure the welfare and security of the Filipino youth.”
“By combining proactive measures with the dedication of our police personnel, the PNP aims to contribute to a productive and safe academic year for all,” said Acorda.
IMEE WEIGHS IN
Sen. Imee Marcos urged the Department of Trade and Industry to ramp up surprise inspections on school supply vendors who deviate from the mandated price guide.
Marcos said she received information that some vendors are taking advantage of the opening of classes by jacking up the prices of school supplies.
“Vendors are ignoring the price guide of DTI,” Marcos said, referring to the “Gabay sa Pamimili ng School Supplies sa 2023 (Guide for Buying School Supplies for 2023) set by the agency.
Random price monitoring conducted by the office of Marcos in some Metro Manila markets over the weekend showed that basic notebooks were priced now at P23 to P60 each when the DTI set them from P23 to P52.
Pad paper, she said, was set at P20 to P28 but costs as much as P35, particularly in Caloocan City and Rizal.
Prices of crayons in various quantities are P30 to P100 per box, while the DTI pegged them at P24 to P69.
Ballpens, however, were cheaper now at P7 to P11 each, as compared to the DTI’s pricing of P11 to P17 each.
Marcos said bargain hunters in Divisoria will find that regular notebooks formerly priced at P180 to P200 per ream have been increased to P250, while spiral notebooks that used to cost P180 to P200 per ream are now sold at P300 per ream.
She said DTI has conducted “surprise inspections” in Divisoria and other markets the past two weeks but lamented that prices were jacked up soon after. — With Wendell Vigilia, Victor Reyes and Raymond Africa
