By Vincent P. Grecia
Public schools in Iloilo province are all set for the start of the new academic year next Monday, August 29, 2023.
Department of Education (DepEd) Iloilo Superintendent Dr. Ernesto F. Servillon Jr., in a media conference on August 15, 2023, said that the schools have already started their Oplan Brigada and Balik Eskwela to ensure that all the learning facilities, including the equipment and learning materials, are all set.
“Looking into the plans sang school heads, ang mga interventions nga ginpang-plastar naton like strategies ta para ma-address ang kakulangan sang classrooms and teachers, makasiling gid kita nga ready gid kita and prepared for the opening of classes,” Servillon said.
He acknowledged that just like any other areas in the country, Iloilo is still facing the long-standing problem of classroom and teacher shortage, but revealed that the DepEd central office and the Iloilo Provincial Government are working together to address the gaps.
“Ongoing man ang pag-download sang central office sang fund para sa classroom construction. At the same time, our provincial government, ginagamit man ang aton School Board Fund para sa pag-augment para dugangan ang aton classrooms,” Servillon explained.
Part of DepEd-Iloilo’s interventions include providing temporary learning spaces; utilization of existing structures that can be converted to classrooms; shifting of schedules; and conducting blended learning modality.
Data from DepEd-Iloilo showed that the province lacks 1,652 classrooms, broken down as follows: 302 classrooms for the 1st district; 297 for the 2nd district; 3rd district (385); 4th district (219); and 5th district (449).
For the teaching personnel, DepEd-Iloilo revealed that based on the academic year 2022-2023, more than 800 teachers for Senior High School (SHS) and more than 50 teachers for SPED are needed in the province.
The department, on the other hand, thanked the provincial government for approving its proposal of hiring 500 additional remedial teachers, which will be funded by the Local School Board, to address the lack of teachers, as well as the present learning gaps and performance status of the students.
Servillon also said that they are expecting an increase in the number of enrollees this year from 493,335 students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 enrolled in 2022.
Meanwhile, DepEd-Iloilo is planning to launch its program under the Alternative Learning System dubbed Enrollment to Employment, which aims to connect ALS graduate who don’t want to proceed to college to possible employment opportunities through the help of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“I have seen that there is a gap between formal and non-formal students and I thought that after graduation from ALS, ano na matabo? That is why we conceptualize the program that once mag-enroll sila dira, they will end up employed with the help of TESDA and DOLE,” Servillon said. (PIA6 Iloilo)
