WHILE the regional Department of Education (DepEd-7) said they are ready to implement the K-12 program, there aren’t enough teachers and classrooms to implement it.
DedEd Central Visayas director Dr. Juliet Jeruta said budgetary requirements and bureaucratic red tape had delayed the construction of more classrooms and deployment of more teachers especially in mountain and island barangays.
In the province, the towns need 1,038 classrooms to accommodate the 28,000 incoming senior high school students.
Dr. Rhea Mar Angtud, DepEd Cebu schools superintendent, said while they are “90 percent ready for K-12,” only 371 classrooms were completed and 639 are still under construction. She said they hope to finish 498 out of the 639 classrooms by the end of June.
As of now Nenita Jeralve, Brigada Eskwela and Adopt a School program coordinator in DepEd Cebu province, said double shifts will be applied to accommodate students entering 11th Grade or senior high school.
The Alliance for Concerned Teachers in Region 7 (ACT-7) opposed the K-12 program saying the schools don’t have enough teachers and classrooms to fully implement it.
But Jeruta said preparations for K-12 had been ongoing since 2012. About 2,780 teachers were hired to teach 11th Grade. Angtud said 678 teachers will handle 28,000 incoming 11th Grade students.