MikeLigalig.com

Some 300,000 students will troop to public and private schools beginning tomorrow for the formal opening of classes in the elementary, high school and college levels.

Public schools will open classes tomorrow while most private schools will start classes on June 13.

Department of Education (DepEd) officials could not yet determine the shortages of classrooms and teachers as enrolment will go on until Friday, Bohol Schools Division Asst. Superintendent Norma Varquez told the Chronicle.

DepEd estimates an average increase of 2% enrolment in the province.

There are 938 public elementary schools in the province to accommodate about 180,000 primary students. Of these elementary schools, 17 are under the Interim Tagbilaran City Schools Division while the rest are located in the province's 47 towns.

Public high schools in the entire province is now 122, including 7 secondary schools in the city.

Public high school enrolment is expected to surpass last year's 60,762 in the towns and some 5,851 here in Tagbilaran City.

Enrolment is seen higher in the city schools with a projected increase of 5% this year, a little over the 4% last year.

According to Varquez, the rise in enrolment in both elementary and high school can be attributed to DepEd's project STRIVE (Strengthening the Implementation of Basic Education in Selected Provinces in the Visayas) intensifying its re-enrolment campaign for school dropouts and retrieving out-of-school youths.

Until the enrolment period closes on Friday, the shortage of classrooms and teachers could not yet be determined, Varquez pointed out.

'MORE TEACHERS'

DepEd-Bohol has a total of 5,317 elementary teachers and 1,436 high school instructors.

Aside from this number, the provincial government has hired some 438 locally paid teachers being assigned in municipal schools to augment the nationally paid mentors and address the shortage, Varquez said.

Compared to the other provinces, according to Varquez, Bohol can pride itself of a 42:1 teacher to student ratio which is way below the national average.

Public schools are allowed a maximum of 60 students in one class to be manageable by the teacher.

In the elementary level, the teacher to student ratio in Bohol public schools is even much lower at 1:31.

However, Varquez admitted that there are few classes that holds the maximum number of 60 students in one classroom.

NEW CLASSROOMS

DepEd-Bohol's Physical Plant Supervisor, Engr. Bigonte, in a separate interview with the Chronicle, bared that there are 62 new classrooms constructed in the different public schools to lessen the classroom shortage.

Thrity-four of these classrooms were constructed under the "convergence strategy" of DepEd and the provincial government.

Two classrooms costing P5.1 million are now ready to be used in 17 public schools under the "convergence strategy" projects.

The other classrooms were constructed through community-based strategy and service contracting schemes being employed by DepEd, according to Bigonte.

However, the two DepEd officials clarified that when there is a shortage of classrooms, it does not mean that classes are being held under the shade of a tree, as what is usually imagined by many.

TEXTBOOKS

Equally important is the availability of textbooks for the students.

According to Varquez, DepEd-Bohol has already achieved a 1:1 student to textbook ratio.

In rare cases, Varquez said, there maybe two students who share one textbook for a particular subject.

She said the DepEd estimates the usable lifespan of one textbook for a period of five years. However, in reality, these textbooks are already unusable after three years, Varquez added. (Kit Bagaipo, Bohol Chronicle, 6/3/2007)

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