TAGUM CITY—-Girls Scout Davao del Norte Council is finding it hard to recruit and renew members this school opening as most Parents-Teachers Community Associations (PTCAs) have refused to get payments for Girls Scout membership during enrolment.
Leah Joy Gonzaga, council executive in an interview, said the council has felt this problem especially in Tagum City where PTCAs are no longer requiring enrollees to pay Girls Scout membership fees.
Gonzaga bared huge Girls Scout membership which used to reached about 70,000 every school year opening before the issuance of the Department of Education memorandum to ban any fees during enrollment.
Membership strength of Girls Scout Davao del Norte Council which covers the cities of Panabo, Tagum, Samal and the provinces of Davao del Norte and Compostela Vally has gone down to only 28,000 ever since the DepEd memorandum has been enforced.
This is just voluntary, however we really are having a hard time getting members, Gonzaga said.
She feared membership would even go down this year now that Tagum City schools have strictly adhered to the memorandum.
The council used to get as many as 5,000 members from elementary and 5,000 from high school in Tagum City.
It is planning to launch a massive membership campaign this year targeting Tagum City schools with huge population to enlist pupils and students as Girls Scout members.
Gonzaga called on parents, pupils and students to respond to the membership drive of Girl Scout Davao del Norte Council whenever council executives visit their schools to conduct a forum and other activities to enlist members.
Gonzaga had seen nothing wrong with students and pupils enlisting anytime within the school-year but she said they wont be able to participate Girls Scout activities unless the P40 membership fee would be paid.
Set to take off in July, Girls Scout activities include encampment; leadership training; GSP rallies during which songs and yells, games and dances are played; and Scout Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Relief (SAVERs) training in tie-up with the Office of Civil Defense, Red Cross and the Bureau of Fire. (PIA XI Dispatch/JMDA )
