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By James Konstantin Galvez, Reporter
More than 20 million students
will troop back today to more than 40,000 public elementary and high
schools to kick off school year 2008 to 2009.
“It’s all systems go for the
June 10 school opening,” Department of Education Secretary Jesli
Lapus said Monday.
According to Lapus, the
department’s Oplan (Operation Plan) Balik Eskwela that it had
undertaken with other government agencies and the private sector
will make for a smooth reopening of classes nationwide.
The Education department expects
some one million pre-schoolers, 14 million elementary-school pupils
and seven million high-school students to return to classrooms.
Lapus will lead department
officials in marking reopening day with visits to Batasan Hills
National High School in Quezon City at 6 a.m. and Highway Hills
Integrated School in Mandaluyong City at 8 a.m.
He reiterated the Education
department’s polices against collecting fees from pre-schoolers
and grades 1 to 3 pupils. Lapus said the department will implement
voluntary payment of fees among grade 4 to grade 6 pupils for
membership in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and for the
government’s campaign against tuberculosis and the parent-teacher
associations. He also stressed that the Education department no
longer requires public elementary and high-school students to wear
uniforms. The policy was adopted after President Gloria Arroyo last
week said school uniforms had to go.
Lapus ordered school officials to
admit all children who will be six years old by the reopening of
classes. A birth certificate is all that parents need to present to
enroll their child. If this document is not available, a joint
affidavit attesting to the birth of the child and executed by two
disinterested persons may be submitted.
If an enrollee is younger than 6
years old, he may be admitted to grade 1, provided that his
readiness for school has been assessed positively by the school
where he is applying for admission.
Pupils or students who wish to
transfer to a public school from another public school or from a
private school should bring their report card or Form 138 to the
school where they intend to transfer. If the report card is not
available, they should still be admitted on condition that the
document should be submitted not later than the end of the first
grading period.
Lapus said shortage of classrooms
has been addressed with the construction of more than 10,000
classrooms and the repair and maintenance of existing school
buildings.
He assured that class sizes will
range from a minimum of 15 pupils or students to a maximum of 60 per
class. Lapus said classes from grades 1 to 3 should not exceed
40 pupils per class to keep the teaching-learning process more
manageable during the formative years of schooling.
The Education department said it
may adopt the double-shift policy to accommodate all enrollees.
Superintendents and principals will enforce this policy. Regional
directors will monitor compliance.
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