Village watchmen tapped to secure students at night

Village watchmen will have a key role to play when the new school year opens on June 15 — securing students going home at night. A report on dzBB radio Thursday said this was one of the decisions arrived at during an inter-agency meeting for the opening of classes. During the meeting, participants led by the Department of Education agreed to tap barangay tanods (village watchmen) to keep watch over students going home at night. But education officials also appealed to students not to give robbers opportunities to strike, by not showing off cell phones and other valuables, the same report said. Meanwhile, at least 72 high school students are now undergoing counseling or rehabilitation after flunking random drug tests earlier this year. The DepEd said most of the 72 flunkers are from Metro Manila, with 70 testing positive for marijuana and two for methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu). In Quezon City, Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele told Unang Hirit news anchor Arnold Clavio that they have started coordinating with school officials in the city on problems usually encountered during school opening. Likewise, Mantele cautioned students and parents alike on crowded areas within the vicinity of schools where crimes usually occur.

Hotline vs school fees, tuition hikes Meanwhile, to help education officials act against some schools hiking tuition and collecting early fees, militant students have set up a hotline to receive complaints from parents. Kabataan party-list and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) said parents can send complaints to 352-10-54, 0922-8240740, and 0915-6469177. "As early as March 2010, we have notified (the Commission on Higher Education) of various school violations on tuition consultations. Up to now, CHED has not released the list of approved schools with increases as if the list is a top secret document that should not be made known to the public," NUSP national president Einstein Recedes said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site. Recedes assailed CHED for its "softness" towards school owners and administrators when it comes to tuition increases. He lamented the CHED allowed schools to increase their fees despite the lack of consultations with parents. Citing news reports, he said CHED had allowed some 339 schools to increase their matriculation fees for the coming school year. Yet, he said a tuition hike freeze remains the resounding demand of parents and students as tuition becomes less affordable. Citing United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (Unesco) data, Recedes said that in 2008, 73 percent of college students were forced to drop for the high price of education here. On the other hand, he said the hotline will also get complaints from elementary and secondary students to monitor the Education Department's no-collection policy. — RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV