CALAMBA CITY
(PIA)– The Department
of Education (DepEd) in
Calabarzon expects to log
more enrollees this year
higher than its previous
record of 4.05 million last
year.
The Education
department said around
4,102,945 enrollees are
expected in Calabarzon
for the incoming school
year, including those registered under the Alternative Learning System
(ALS).
In its August
22 update, enrollment in
Calabarzon has already
reached 2,915,796, which
is the highest in the country. Region IV-A also posted the highest number of
enrollees in the country
last year with 4,052,158
students.
DepEd IV-A Regional Director Atty. Alberto Escobarte expects
the enrollment rate to surpass the record last school
year, as the resumption of
classes draws near.
“For the coming
school year, sa enrollment
update namin, we have
so far enrolled almost 2.9
million students that is
equivalent to 72% of the
total official enrollment
count comparing[sic] to
last school year.”
E s c o b a r t e
adds, “The momentum
is increasing and we expect that our total enrollment last year would be
breached by 4 million
plus and we expect about
50,000 new enrollees to
be added this school year.”
The DepEd Calabarzon assured that it has
enough teaching personnel to ensure the continuous delivery of education
despite the high enrollment turn out.
“Bago pa matapos ang School Year
2022-2023 ay pinag-uusapan na sa Regional Office [at] sa National rin po,
pinag-uusapan ng ma fillup na dapat ang lahat ng
vacant teaching positions
dahil inaasahan na ang
pagdagsa ng malaking
numero ng mga mag-aaral
sa pasukan. Mas maraming guro rin ang kakailanganin para tugunan ang
pangangailangan ng ating
mga mag-aaral,” said Regional Information Officer
Ariel Azuelo.
Meanwhile, Wilbert Ulpindo, Project Development Officer II, said
the six-day school maintenance week beginning August 14 was enough time
to refurbish classrooms
and other school facilities.
“Sa mga pasilidad na nasira nitong mga
nakaraan ay minimal lamang. Iyon ay kayang daanin sa Brigadahan. Pero
‘yung mga nakaraan na
[na naapektuhan noong
bagyong] Paeng, Rolly,
and Quinta, iyon naman ay
nagawan ng paraan para
mapondohan. Sa ngayon
ay sinisimulan na silang
i-repair para maibalik na
kung paano siyang dapat
ay nagagamit,” Ulpindo
said.
The DepEd Calabarzon also launched the
national learning camp
(NLC) to address the
learning gaps during the
Covid-19 pandemic and
foster learner interests,
socio-emotional skills, personal growth, and character development.
“Ito po ang isa
sa mga bagong programa
ng DepEd. [Kung] dati ay
may tinatawag tayong
summer classes at enrichment classes, ngayon ang
tawag na natin dito ay national learning camp. Hindi
lamang ito sa mga struggling readers, kundi maging sa iba pang asignatura
gaya ng Mathematics, English, at marami pang iba,”
said Azuelo.
“Ito po ang isa
sa mga bagong programa
ng DepEd. [Kung] dati ay
may tinatawag tayong
summer classes at enrichment classes, ngayon ang
tawag na natin dito ay na
tional learning camp. Hindi
lamang ito sa mga struggling readers, kundi maging sa iba pang asignatura
gaya ng Mathematics, English, at marami pang iba,”
said Azuelo.
To ensure the
success of the NLC,
DepEd Calabarzon is
also working with various
stakeholders to share their
time and resources.
Data from the
DepEd Calabarzon Planning and Research Division show that it still needs
some 27,056 teachers for
School Year 2023-2024.
Elino Garcia,
OIC-Chief of Policy, added
that the DepEd Calabarzon still has 1,402 teaching positions waiting to be
filled up. Despite its shortage in teaching personnel, the education department assured students
that quality education
will be delivered in public
schools.
“May mga adjustment na gagawin dyan
para hindi ma-compromise
ang kalidad ng pagtuturo.
Isinasaalang-alang rin natin ang bilang ng mga guro
na mayroon tayo para patuloy na makapagbigay ng
de kalidad na serbisyo sa
mga bata,” assured Garcia
