Teachers at the Mandaue City Central School prepare for the opening of classes on Monday. | CDND Photo/ Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – The pandemic has sent more pupils to enrol in the different public schools in Mandaue City this school year.
Dr. Jaime Ruelan, chief of DepEd Mandaue’s Oplan Balik Eskwela Curriculum Implementation Division, said that their enrolment increased by at least .24 percent this year.
At least 67, 003 pupils have now enrolled in the different public schools in the city or an increase of 162 from the 66, 841 enrollees that they had in the school year 2019-2020.
“We expect the migration of learners from the private school to public school. Considering that, I believe there are some private schools that are shutting down. So, that’s why we expect(ed) the increase in enrolment,” Ruelan said.
However, as of this writing, Mandaue City school officials could not yet say if there were also public school students who opted no longer enrol for the school year 2020-2021.
Ruelan said that there is also a possibility for the number of enrollees to further increase as they continue to accept late enrolments.
The enrollment period already ended on July 15 but Ruelan said they could still accommodate late enrollees depending on the school’s absorptive capacity.
Those who can no longer be accommodated in public schools will be advised to enrol in another school.
Meanwhile, Ruelan said they are now 90 percent ready to start classes under the new normal.
Public school classes are set to open on October 5.
Ruelan said that each of the public schools in the city has already prepared modules that is good for use in the next eight weeks.
The schools’ division is also in the process of purchasing a machine for the reproduction of modules that are needed for the rest of the school year.
Last week, DepEd Mandaue City conducted three stages of simulation to prepare for the opening of classes.
Parents were asked to claim the modules and the corresponding answer sheets for their learners.
The simulation was made to allow education officials to assess the activity and find areas for improvement. They also want to make sure that health and safety protocols are observed during the distribution of the self-learning modules. / dcb