Too many students, too few

classrooms
BY NEIL ALCOBER, TMT
JUNE 02, 2014

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Overcrowded classrooms and a lack of school desks were the common

problems reported on the first day of classes on Monday in public
elementary and high schools nationwide.

Metro Manila had the most number of packed classrooms. In

Caloocan City, as many as 78 students were squeezed into classrooms
that should only hold 45 persons.

Luz Almeda, regional director for the National Capital Region (NCR)
office of the Department of Education (DepEd), attributed the
overcrowding to the dense population in cities.

“Ang karamihan ng problema ngayon ay kulang talaga ng classrooms

and armchairs [We really lack classrooms and armchairs]. We used
laboratories into classrooms. We divided the classrooms into two. We
used science labs, libraries, lanai [corridors], and principals’ offices,”
she said.

“The problem is how we can further reduce the class size. Meron
talaga tayo oversized [classrooms]. Overflowing talaga. We hope the
city governments can donate lots for the new school buildings. Hindi
na kami tumatanggap ng donation for one-storey school building,”
Almeda said.

She said they had to adopt the double shifting scheme in Caloocan
City to accomodate all enrollees. The first shift is from 6 a.m. to 12
noon and the second is from 12 noon to 6 p.m.

“Since we cannot implement the 3-day school week, nag-dodouble

shifting na kami. In Caloocan City, two shifts na nga ang classes doon
pero malaki pa rin ang class size from 65, 70, and 78 students per
classroom. Kung nakapag 3-day school week sana, 45 nalang per
classroom,” she added.

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Almeda said the top 20 schools in Metro Manila that are highly
congested were those in the cities of Quezon (6), Las Piñas (2),
Caloocan (4), Malabon (3) and Quezon, Taguig (2), Parañaque (2),
and Marikina (1).

For this school year, 82 percent of the 764 in Metro Manila

implemented the double shifting scheme.

Jesus Mateo, DepEd Assistant Secretary for Planning, said the first
day of classes went smoothly despite the perennial complaints mostly
from parents.

But many students in Eastern Visayas held classes in hot tents.

But the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) claimed the government

was not ready for Monday’s school opening.

“The more correct pronouncement would be, teachers are ready, as we

always do. Teachers are as excited as the kids during the first day of
school, we consider this as a new beginning,” Benjo Basas, the
group’s national chairperson, said.

“There are schools in Samar and Leyte that until now have not rebuilt
even a single classroom. Still, some of them are used as evacuation
centers particularly in Tacloban City and Tanauan, Leyte,” he added.

“The classroom shortage is a problem in a ‘normal’ condition, it

would be worse in the disaster areas. Thus, the immediate construction
of school buildings is very much needed. Teachers and children in
some schools will hold classes under the trees or in any available
space, especially the schools which are not recipients of donations of
temporary classrooms from international nongovernment
organizations,” Basas explained.

The militant youth group League of Filipino Students (LFS) staged a

protest on the first day of classes.

Youth and students led by LFS and other youth groups marched to
Mendiola along with members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers
(ACT) to denounce the government’s disregard of problems in the
education sector.

“No matter how many lies and tricks they take out of their sleeve, the
government will remain unsuccessful in denying the fact that the
system is problematic. Parents, students, and teachers are all swamped
under the deplorable quality of education,” Charlotte Velasco, the
group’s national chairperson, said.

Peaceful
The Philippine National Police (PNP) also said the opening of classes
was generally peaceful.
PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Wilben Mayor said police regional
offices nationwide reported as of noontime Monday that the situation
was normal in their areas.

In Southern Tagalog region, however, still unidentified suspects

robbed an elementary school of P700 in cash and a digital camera
worth P12,000 early on Monday.

Mayor said robbed was Paaralang Elementarya ng Maitim Segundo in

Barangay Maitim, 2nd East, Tagaytay, Cavite.

In Makati City in Metro Manila, 80,000 students were given free

school supplies and uniform.

Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay set aside P1.3 billion of the P2-billion
budget for education to support public school students from pre-school
to high school.

Binay said they alloted P520 million for ‘Project Free’ this school
year.

WITH REPORTS FROM ANTHONY VARGAS AND RUFFIE

CRUZ