THE Kabataan party-list group slammed the Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday for declaring Monday’s class resumption as the “best school opening thus far.”
By doing so, Kabataan said Education Secretary Armin A. Luistro is “grossly downplaying the horrendous effect of the K to 12 Program to many students and families.”
In a news briefing at the House of Representatives, incoming Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago of Kabataan castigated Luistro for being blind to what she said was “K to 12 dropout effect.”
“Secretary Luistro is quick to hail the opening of classes as a success. Never mind the fact that many students still have to hold classes in hallways or in short shifts. Never mind the fact that close to 500,000 students have been forced to drop out due to the full implementation of the K to 12 Program,” Elago said.
“The DepEd is intent on downplaying the dire ramifications of the K to 12 Program. Secretary Luistro, one student forced to drop out is one too many. The willy-nilly implementation of K to 12 has resulted in 400,000 dropouts. How can you sleep at night?” Elago asked.
As of Monday, of the estimated 1.5 million students who completed Grade 10, only 600,000 have enrolled in Grade 11, the first of the two-year senior high school (SHS) under K to 12.
Luistro earlier disputed Kabataan’s estimate that up to a million Grade 10 students will drop out of school owing to K to 12, saying that the DepEd expects around 1.1 million students to eventually enroll in Grade 11.
Elago said she will ask the 17th Congress to thoroughly review the implementation of the K to 12 Program once it begins session in July.
“We intend to summon the DepEd to Congress to assess the situation, with the end view of discontinuing this program that has proven to be nothing but a burden for many Filipino families,” Elago said.
Enrollment extension
INCOMING Grade 11 students in public SHS are given until June 30 to enroll in their chosen schools, as DepEd Regional Office III announced the extension of the SHS enrollment in Central Luzon.
Michelle Catap-Lacson, DepEd regional information officer, said this move seeks to ensure that the projected enrollment for public SHS students will be realized.
As of the first enrollment deadline on June 3, only 57,637, out of the 100,333, or 57.6 percent, of projected Grade 11 enrollees have registered, she added. The officer in charge of the DepEds regional office in Central Luzon, Director Malcolm S. Garma, during the DepEd Region III Mid-Year Media Conference, said there is a need to guarantee that all targeted Grade 11 students will be enrolled in their preferred schools, since this is the first year of the implementation of the SHS program.
He encouraged the students and their parents to enroll now and not wait until the deadline to give school heads of public SHS ample time to prepare and adjust their respective SHS program offerings.
Lacson said the DepEd Regional Office II continues its efforts in preparation for the SHS implementation with the hiring of 3,888 SHS teachers, who are now undergoing trainings and orientations, procurement of equipment for the tech-voc-livelihood track worth P418 million and the close monitoring of classroom construction implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
As of June 6, 54 percent, or 1,659, out of the 3,103 needed classrooms for SHS in public schools in Central Luzon have already been completed before the June 13 opening of classes.
Garma said DPWH engineers committed to complete SHS classroom construction in the entire region until August.
(With Jovee Marie dela Cruz and Ashley Manabat)
Image credits: Nonie Reyes