Glenn P. Sarmiento, senior education program specialist, and Marilou Q. Castro, planning officer III of the DepEd Division Office here gave their assurance during the “Balitaan” media forum organized by the Capampangan in Media, Inc. (CAMI) in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) held at the OB Montessori Center here last Friday.
“We have allocations for incoming Grades 11 and 12,” assured Castro.
When asked if the perennial problem of lack of classrooms in schools will still add to the number of incoming senior high schools, Castro replied: “We can still accommodate them.”
She assured that there will be enough classrooms even for junior high school students. “The DepEd is really committed in pushing for this K-12 program but we need the full support of the community,” she said.
Castro said private schools like Jocson College and Systems Plus have built additional classrooms to accommodate the incoming senior high schools.
Sarmiento said the students will have additional two years in high school but the government is really doing its best to support this program by giving students voucher s to enroll in private schools. “We are almost in the finish line, everything is ready especially the buildings and the budget,” said Sarmiento.
Soliven
Preciosa Soliven, founder of the OB Montessori Center, said high school requires technology and it’s the best stage to learn skills.
“I think we have to be committed here. We are the last country to have 12 years of basic education,” she said. “I think our high school should really get involved into technology,” she added.
Edna Guevarra, owner of the Saint Emiliana Academy in Balibago, said students can be gainfully employed after senior high school because of the additional training they will get from high school.
It can be recalled that only last September, some private schools were apprehensive on whether the incoming senior high school students can be accommodated once the new law, RA 10533 or the “K- 12 Basic Education Program” is implemented.
Fears
Robert P. Tantingco, Holy Angel University (HAU) vice president for external affairs and corporate communications, expressed fear that thousands of students going into Grade 11 in the next school year in compliance with the new law might not be able to go to go to school at all because of the lack of facilities.
Tantingco said the university can only accommodate about 800 senior high school students in the next school year considering that they already have about 800 of their own students going to grade 11. He noted that HAU has already the biggest “absorptive capacity” at 800 students as compared to other schools in the city and even the entire province.
“Next year we will have thousands of students who must go to grade 11 according to the new law, but they have nowhere to go,” he said.
Tantingco said HAU used to accommodate, under normal circumstances, 5,000 up to 6,000 college freshmen but because of the change in the educational system there is now a limit.
He explained that they could accommodate a huge number before because they have three shifts for college freshmen – morning, afternoon and evening shifts.
But for senior high school students there is only one single shift from morning until afternoon because nobody would take evening classes for senior high schools.
But DepEd officials assured that all senior high school and even junior high school students will be able to enroll and accommodated with enough schools and classrooms available.
