Southern Mindanao needs 3,000 teachers

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Southern Mindanao needs at least 3,000 more teachers with the opening of classes next week. 

According to Department of Education Region XI officials, there has been a need for at least 3,000 teachers in the area as there has been an increase also in the number of public elementary and high school students, bringing close to one million enrolled for the coming school year. 

The region also needs 1,300 classrooms to accommodate the increase in the number of students in public schools this school year. 

Certain hinterlands as well as remote areas in the region have been without teachers if not only with substitute teachers for the past several years. 

The need for more teachers, classrooms and armchairs is more felt this time as records showed that the 1,978 public schools in the region have registered an increase in the number of enrollees this coming school year with 957,325 students compared to only 870,214 last school year. 

Hard times brought about by the worldwide recession also forced parents to tighten their belts by transferring their children from private to public schools.

DepEd XI regional director Susana Teresa said armchairs cost P800 each and she hopes there would be enough funds to cover for the requirement.

There has also been a problem of dilapidated school buildings especially in the provinces that have not been rehabilitated giving the students an environment not conducive to learning. 

In Davao del Sur, school officials have been asking re-elected Gov. Douglas Cagas to shift his focus from construction of more barangay halls and gymnasiums to help in building more classrooms. 

In the town of Sulop, students have to suffer from roofless buildings where they attend classes. 

This, as the regional education officials have also been grateful with the conduct of the Brigada Eskwela volunteer program participated in not only by parents but also by various sectors who do not only help in clearing and cleaning the school premises but also donate in kind needed materials such as paint.