GOVERNMENT CENTER, PALO, Leyte — Despite the perennial woes that mark the opening of classes, the regional office of the Department of Education said that it is ready to welcome more than 900,000 students as this school year formally opens today.

Rebecca Ragrag, information officer of the DepEd-8, said that all of the region’s government-run schools are ready to accept the students who will be trooping to their respective classrooms.

“Everything is ready in so far as the opening of classes is concerned,” Ragrag told Leyte Samar Daly Express.

She said that Education Regional Director Sol Matugas also made instructions for the school not to collect fees during the opening of classes.     

For his part, Chief Supt. Abner Cabalquinto, police regional director, has issued a directive to all provincial, city and municipal officers to mobilize their respective policemen to patrol school premises during today’s school opening to avert any occurrence untoward incidents.

Ragrag told Express that despite the problems that usually occur during opening of classes, the department is doing its best to address them.
Among the problems that plagued the agency is lack of teachers, classrooms, facilities and books.

The regional information officer of the DepEd said that these problems are becoming “normal” as long as there is an increase of students’ population. “Naturally, increase of enrollment means increase of teachers needs, more classrooms and school facilities like chairs,” Ragrag explained.   

Based on the projection of the DepEd-8, the region is to have a one- percent increase of students’ population, both in the elementary and secondary divisions. Last year, the region had about 905,044 students’ population.

Ragrag had earlier said that the region is in need of about 400 new teachers for both in the elementary and secondary levels.

The region is in need of 1,546 new classrooms to accommodate the students who will be trooping to their respective classes.

Based on the records of the DepEd’s planning division, out of the 18,858 existing classrooms for the elementary students, 451 more are needed while 1,095 new classrooms are needed to accommodate high school students who are cramped from the existing 4, 873 classrooms.

As to the school facilities like chairs and desks, the region needs 83, 975 more for the elementary and 59,382 for the secondary. At present, students in the elementary are sharing 681,609 chairs and desks while there are 196,706 chairs and desks in the secondary level.

But despite the lack of teachers and school facilities, Ragrag still boasted that the quality of education in the region remain at par with the rest of the country. “In fact, we are doing good compare to other regions based in our performance of the annual aptitude test,” she said, referring to the National Readiness Assessment Test for the elementary and National Achievement Test for the secondary.