|
CEBU CITY: A Cebu City official has assured there will be no classes
“under the mango tree” in the city as classes open in June.
Joy Augustus Young, Cebu city hall education
consultant, said that while the number of students per classroom is
not yet the ideal ratio, incoming public school students would have
enough classrooms to use this year.
He said that instead of the ideal 30 to 35
students, or the target of 40 to 45 students per classroom, the city
will have 50 to 55 students each classroom to accommodate everyone.
“No classes will be held under the mango tree.
We just need to lower the student ratio of 40 to 45 per classroom.
Instead of the ideal, there would be 50 to 55 in some classrooms,”
he said.
Young also said the enrolment trend is that the
number of enrollees is declining through the years.
This is a cause for alarm, he added, as it could
mean that parents can no longer afford to send their children even
to public schools.
Young said the two-year high school program that
the city government has pioneered would continue on its second year
with the adoption of the Department of Education’s (DepEd)
Alternative Learning System, (ALS).
He said the ALS, used in DepEd’s pilot program
for out-of-school youths, is used so that the department would
already accredit the two-year high school program.
After finishing the two-year program, students
will have to undergo another year of testing before hurdling a
qualifying examination that will entitle them to receive a
high-school diploma.
Young also reminded public-school principals
that although he has nothing against asking for fees from students
upon enrolment, failure to pay is not a reason to turn down
enrollees.
He said the Parents-Teachers Association also
needs to limit its fundraising activities, the proceeds of which are
used to finance its school projects.
--PNA
|
