DAVAO CITY — The Department of Educationsaid the Davao Region is “150 percent ready” in terms of the 298 schools which will start the senior high school leg on June 13.
DepEd information officer Jenielito Atillo told reporters on Monday, June 6 that out of the 303 tallied secondary schools in the region 209 of which are private, only five do not offer senior high education because their enrollees “can be catered to the mother school” near their locations.
He said that the count for registered enrollees for senior high school as of October 2015 data, is 52,566 for public schools, and 10,499 for private schools, and totaled 63,065.
“Of course this has increased by now,” Atillo said.
He added that as classes open every year the department expects potential situations and problems to address, but he said the DepEd is excited “because this is the first time that the senior high education is materialized”.
Classrooms construction ongoing
The “worst case scenario,” however, said Atillo, is that the remaining classrooms under construction will not be finished by August this year. He said that 935 classrooms are still being constructed, while 452 have already been established, adding that 482 classrooms are to be ready by June 13.
“We discussed this matter with the local DepEd head and the ten DepEd divisions in the area and they each have their own solutions,” he said.
Compostela Valley, he said, will use LSB-funded buildings if they will shift junior high school classes, and Davao City will borrow classrooms from adjacent elementary schools with extra rooms, and principals’ offices will be utilized as well.
“They will utilize gymnasiums and barangay gymnasiums if need be,” he said. However, he emphasized that this will only be a problem until August, based on the confirmation by the contractors and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that “they will really complete the remaining classrooms” which are still under construction.
Atillo said the teachers set to teach for senior high school are from state universities, private institutions and even DepEd depending on their capacity.
He said the Commission on Higher Education, DepEd and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will soon address the concerns regarding teachers affected by the senior high school transition. (davaotoday.com)
