Students return to schools lacking chairs, reading outdated books

Over 25 million students trooped back to school on Monday — ready for the 10-month school year grind — but it seems many public schools are far from ready due to a lack of school equipment & supplies. In the midst of students, teachers and other parents, Adelaida Dupitas sat on one of the benches inside the Ramon Magsaysay High School (RMCHS) in Cubao, Quezon City, as she waited patiently for her son, a high school freshman. “Balita namin maganda pagtuturo dito," she said in an interview with GMA News Online. Adelaida’s son is one of the 1,500 or so RMCHS freshmen who would get good teachers but find no chairs and desks inside their classrooms, then later would have to look for textbooks and workbooks to use. The classrooms on second floor of the RMCHS main building were practically empty — save for two blackboards, a teacher’s table and the occasional filing cabinet. While some sections were lucky to have armchairs, these were only enough for the girls. The boys had to sit on the floor. “Sa labas [maganda tignan] pero sa loob [ng classroom], ganyan ang upo nila," Filipino teacher and homeroom adviser Flody Fernandez said in another interview with GMA News Online. He was referring to the freshmen sitting on the floor of the school assembly area. Over at the Batasan Hills National High School in Fairview — the high school with the most students enrolled last school year — it’s the same story. Another school overpopulated and lacking classrooms and equipment. “Totoo yan, taon taon nalang nagiging problema natin ang mga classrooms, teachers, text books," said Department of Education (DepEd) Assistant Secretary for Planning Jess Mateo in an interview with GMA News’ “On Call." Outdated books Fernandez said his students in RMCHS are given textbooks for three subjects — Araling Panlipunan, Sciences and Math — but these are not always on par with DepEd standards. “’Yung textbook na iyon, pang-BEC (Basic Education Curriculum) pero ‘yung last year, ginamit namin ‘yung SEC (Secondary Education Curriculum)," he said. The BEC was implemented in 2002 while the SEC was enacted last year. Students are required to secure workbooks for the other subjects, but these have yet to be standardized — it’s up to the parents and students to find cheap and high-quality workbooks that comply with the new curriculum. Fernandez said that for the Filipino subject he teaches, workbooks costs around P150. Workbooks for other subjects can cost more, he said. On Monday’s school opening, Quezon City Councilor Edcel Lagman Jr. was there to give out some 2,400 workbooks to more than 6,000 RMCHS students. RMCHS Principal Josefina Perlado is no stranger to the woes of her students. After nearly 22 years as a teacher and 17 more years as a principal, she has seen all there is to see in the Philippine public education system “The problem is that parents think of ‘free education’ too literally. Dapat may part din sila sa education ng mga anak nila," she explained. In RMCHS, they’ve resorted to inviting book publishers to sell their wares in the campus. Exception to the rule RMCHS is reportedly among the top schools in the National Capital Region (NCR). Named after the seventh President of the Philippines after Emilio Aguinaldo, RMCHS fares better compared to other public elementary and high schools in the Philippines. Most public schools in the NCR have 76-79 students per classroom, a far cry from the ideal ratio of 46 students per classroom. RMCHS has an average of 50 students per class.1 Classroom shortage is no issue at RMCHS, having employed the "shifting scheme" mandated by the Department of Education (DepEd). Freshmen and seniors attend class from 5:30 a.m. to noon, while sophomores and juniors take over from 1:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. According to GMA News Research data, 74 percent of public elementary and high schools in Metro Manila had a severe shortage of classrooms last school year which affected nearly 1.57 million students or 82 percent of the public school enrollees in the NCR. Students enrolled in RMCHS consider themselves lucky enough to have a better school environment. High school senior Shermain Argarin transferred to RMCHS because she did not find conducive to learning the class schedule in her former school, San Juan National High School (SJNHS). In her two years at SJNHS, she went to school only three times a week, but for nearly 12 hours a day. “Mas gusto ko talaga ang schedule dito," she explained. Einar Antonio, who’s been a student of RMCHS from freshman to senior year, found the quality of teachers there very high. “Kahit po yung mahihirap na subjects, naiintindihan ko ng madali," he said. Still in need RMCHS produced 144 University of the Philippines College Entrance Exam passers last school year. When asked about the number of students who had actually enrolled in the University of the Philippines, even the principal had no answer. “Kulang talaga kami ng database pati ng computers at clerks," Perlado said. The school last year underwent an P11-million repainting project, funded by the previous city mayor after Perlado’s relentless reminding. “You have to move yourself. Otherwise, kawawa ang mga bata," she explained. The DepEd already knows of the school’s lack of armchairs, Perlado said. The armchairs are expected to be delivered next week. As of this posting, DepEd Quezon City division officer-in-charge Superintendent Corazon Rubio could not be reached for comment. According to an employee from the Quezon City division’s property services office, the division spends nearly P7 million a year for the armchairs of Quezon City public schools. The employee could not explain why RMCHS continues to make do with students sitting on the floor instead of chairs, but said that it was impossible for the division to meet the needs of every public school in the city. “Nagbibigay kami [ng armchairs, other equipment] pero hindi lahat nabibigyan. Hindi talaga enough [to meet the needs of all schools]," she explained. — MRT/VS, GMA News