Security measures in place: PNP
MORE than 22 million students return to school today, Tuesday, with the Department of Education assuring everything is ready to welcome them to the full return of face-to-face classes after nearly three years of blended learning due to the pandemic.
“In general, I can say that it’s all systems go for today’s opening of classes. One hundred percent of our schools participated in the Brigada Eskwela to prepare for the opening of classes,” DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas told CNN Philippines yesterday.
Bringas said they expect more than 28 million learners to eventually troop to 44,931 public schools and 12,162 private schools across the country.
The PNP said all security measures are in place to ensure peace and order in today’s opening of classes in public schools throughout the country.
“We would like to assure the public that there are enough personnel from the Philippine National Police (to secure the opening of classes),” said PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo.
As of Monday, the DepEd said it has recorded 22,676,964 enrollees nationwide, with Calabarzon having the highest number of enrollees with 3,465,598, followed by Central Luzon (2,586,926), and the National Capital Region (2,480,970).
The Cordillera Administrative Region registered the least number of enrollees with 351,797.
“As of yesterday (Sunday), we have already reported that we have over 22 million enrollees, including 19 million in public schools. We are expecting over 28 million in public and private schools,” Bringas said, adding they are expecting an influx of late enrollees.
“There will be many late enrollees. We usually have an influx during the first week of classes,” Bringas explained, adding schools will entertain late enrollees.
Bringas said the difference in the number and the expected number of enrollees is due to the lag in the updating of data from the DepEd’s Learner Information System (LIS), which collates data from its regional offices on the number of enrollees, among others.
In the previous academic year, 28.4 million students were enrolled in public and private schools.
BLENDED LEARNING
Bringas said the department will pursue the institutionalization of blended learning as part of the long-term solution to address classroom shortage in public schools.
“We have learned during the pandemic that we have many best practices that we can standardize and institutionalize. We will be adopting measures on blended learning or alternative delivery modes,” Bringas said.
“This is going to be institutionalized nationwide. We have been doing this for the past three years,” he said, referring to the blended delivery mode used by the DepEd as an alternative to in-person learning at the height of the pandemic.
Blended learning, as defined by DepEd, refers to “face-to-face with any or a mix of online distance learning, modular distance learning, and or television or radio-based instruction.”
Bringas also said the DepEd cannot solve the classroom shortage in public schools, which stands at 159,000, within the next two years.
The classroom backlog includes the 440 totally damaged classrooms and others that have been destroyed or damaged by typhoons and natural calamities this year.
During the Senate hearing on the DepEd budget for 2024, Bringas said the department would need at least P397 billion to address the current classroom backlog. Each classroom costs around P2 million.
In the 2023 national budget, Bringas said the DepEd was only given P10 billion, enough for the construction of more than 7,000 classrooms.
“In the Senate hearing, we have already reported a shortage of 159,000 classrooms and that is why we would not be able to solve this gap in the next two years. So, we are looking at long-term solutions such as blended learning so we will not be requiring too many classrooms. That is an accumulated shortage over the years and those damaged by natural disasters this year,” Bringas added.
Aside from blended learning, Bringas said schools in congested areas will be allowed to have two shifts of classes every day to accommodate more learners.
“In the highly congested areas, we will have shifting classes, ideally two-shift classes per day,” he said.
The DepEd has yet to identify schools that will implement two or even three shifts of classes. Last year, most of these schools were located in the National Capital Region, Cebu City, and Calabarzon.
During the Senate hearing, the DepEd said the ideal teacher-per-student ratio is 1:25 for kindergarten, 1:32 for primary school, 1:42 for Junior High School, and 1:45 for Senior High School.
RENTING ROOMS
Another solution being eyed by DepEd to ease classroom shortage is to rent classrooms in private schools but Bringas said the problem is that funding for such is not included in the department’s budget.
“We have been exploring that possibility but we have no line item in our budget that would allow us to do that but that is in our exploration in our partnership with the private sector,” Bringas explained.
Last year, Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte floated the idea of the department renting out schools from private schools as an immediate fix to the classroom backlog.
Federation of Associations of Private Schools Administrators (FAPSA) national president Eleazardo Kasilag said they are supportive of such a plan, adding it would also help private schools in their finances, especially those hard-hit by the pandemic.
JUNE OPENING
Bringas doused hopes of a possible return to the class opening in June, adding that schools cannot return soon to the old academic calendar of June to March.
“By June 2024, we cannot yet go into a June opening because the school year 2023-2024 is going to end on June 14,” Bringas said amid clamor from some sectors for a shift to the old academic calendar as teachers and students struggle to hold classes during the dry season.
But Bringas said the department is already studying the option of returning to the previous academic calendar.
“We have a study already in our bureau that looks at least 3-4 years before we can gradually transition to a June opening,” he added.
To recall, the DepEd moved the opening of classes from June to October in 2020 due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘EMBO SCHOOLS’
Bringas assured parents, teachers, and students of the 14 “EMBO” schools located in 10 barangays that were the subject of a territorial squabble between Makati and Taguig and a subsequent Supreme Court order that they see no problem in today’s opening of classes.
“The transition committee had already started its meeting last week, and as a matter of fact, I was personally tasked by the DepEd Secretary to visit these schools tomorrow,” Bringas said.
The said 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.
Duterte earlier said her office would personally supervise the administration of the said schools until the transition committee composed of the regional director (outside of the National Capital Region), the schools division superintendents of Taguig-Pateros and Makati and the legal officers of Taguig and Makati have finalized the transition plan.
Makati mayor Abigail Binay and Taguig’s Lani Cayetano both welcomed Duterte’s move.
MOBILE PATROL
Fajardo said policemen will conduct mobile and foot patrols to ensure the safety of students, parents who will be bringing their children to schools, teachers, and other school personnel.
Fajardo said police assistance desks will be set up at schools to ensure policemen are ready to respond to any emergency.
“These are not only meant to ensure the safety of the students but also school officials and staff and the parents,” said Fajardo.
Fajardo said parents should not worry about the safety of their children while they are in school.
“They should not worry while their children are away because they are going to be safe inside the schools,” said Fajardo. — With Victor Reyes
