Public secondary school blues’

EARLY last week we took up as one of the items in our column the problem of one school, the Talandang National High School (as inscribed in its front gate) in Tugbok District, Davao City. It is one secondary school with an elevenmember faculty and a principal who was just officially installed two months ago.

And as what we rather sarcastically said in that column the school has a full faculty doing what is expected in the classrooms. That is, teaching the students the subject prescribed on the grade level they are in.

Unfortunately, the eleven members are not organic teachers in the said school. Their items are from other schools not quite far from the educational institution they are currently assigned as organic members. So, they are also entertaining fears that sooner or later they will be recalled by their mother school. What will happen then? The Talandang National High School will be left with only the principal; there will be no more teachers.

Another problem that was brought to the surface after the new principal assumed is the discovery that while it now bears the name as if the secondary school has been waned from its mother institution supposedly after it was clothed with the proper legislative imprimatur as a separate secondary school, it turned out, according to the principal, the record at the DepEd National and Regional Offices show it is still Biao Escuela National High School-Talandang Annex. Therefore, its budget is still lodged with the mother school.

Of course it has its own Identification Number as an institution. But what is sad about it is that the ID is purely some kind of reference for DepEd people to monitor and get whatever they want from this particular secondary school.

It is our take that if the administration of the Talandang National High School is really bent on putting the problem to rest, it should seek audience with the officials of the Davao City Division of Schools, with the appropriate DepEd Regional officials to thresh out the issues and seek audience with Congressman Isidro Ungab then with Department of Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte so once and for all the gray areas in the said school’s existence will finally be resolved.

Another problem of a rural high school not far from the secondary institution that we had been harping on was brought to our attention last Friday. We were invited to attend the 21st Foundation Day of the Talandang National High School. We heartily obliged more so because the Principal personally came to our house to extend the invitation.

Another guest was the principal of the Matina Biao National High School, which is about seven kilometers from the former school. Without being asked he was already sharing with us the problem he is encountering in the school that he heads.

According to him, from the time he started his work at the Matina Biao National High School which, like the former school, also started as an annex of Biao Escuela National High School his attention was immediately focused on the absence of internet connection of his school. In fact, it was, and still is, the most needed during the time because his secondary school was supposed to be on blended method of instructions. That is, through the On-Line portal and on Module means of teaching.

Besides, considering the distance of Matina Biao National High School to the Division Office in downtown Davao City getting connected through the internet or wide fidelity (wi-fi) facility is already of extreme necessity.

And it is generally acknowledged that the leading provider of this communications services is the Philippine Long Distance Co. (PLDT). More so in the case of Biao Matina National High School because it is only PLDT’s lines that have reached the area. The school is not also covered by the signals of any cellular communications providers like it is in our rural residence area.

According to the principal his misfortune is furthered because other than the distance, when he applied for a line with PLDT he was told that his school cannot be accommodated because the nearest digital box was already full.

Wow! We thought all the while that the communications firm is committed to support government in its efforts to enhance connectivity of the schools to ensure that it can meet the Education Department’s mandate to attain quality education even at this time of serious disruption in school processes of imparting knowledge. Besides, the connection will be continuously paid. It surely is not for free.

Hence we could not help but strongly recommended to the Principal that he brings the matter to the attention of the top officials of the City Schools Division so proper request can be made with the telecommunications giant. For certain, with the importance of education PLDT can surely find ways. In fact we know of many private home subscribers quite far from digital boxes but were connected “courtesy of several blue bills” finding their way to the hands of PLDT service contractors like it is during the debut rituals.