BACOLOD CITY, May 12 (PNA) — Officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Negros Occidental are gearing up for the full implementation of the K to 12 program.
“We are ready,” said Anthony Liobet, officer in charge-schools division superintendent, and Michell Acoyong, chief of school governance and operations division of DepEd-Negros Occidental Division Office, during a press conference Tuesday.
Starting next school year, 77 public and 24 private schools in the province will open the senior high school, and 46,680 students are expected to register by 2016 to 2017.
From 2016 and 2017, an additional 1,166 classrooms will be constructed while 1,750 teachers will be hired.
Initially, the DepEd has allocated at least P300 million for the construction of 148 classrooms in Negros Occidental, Liobet said.
He added that the Department of Public Works and Highways is expected to start construction in July this year.
Meanwhile, Acoyong said DepEd-Negros Occidental has been preparing for senior high school since 2012.
“We have already charted the strategic direction for all implementers,” he said.
Acoyong said the DepEd has set aside a budget for hiring 30,000 senior high school teachers in 2016.
Moreover, the DepEd-Negros Occidental has also partnered with the Province of Negros Occidental and the University of St. La Salle for a teachers’ scholarship program called Project Free.
Through the scholarship, 1,296 teachers pursue graduate studies to prepare them for the demands of senior high school, Acoyong said.
Under the senior high school, which covers the last two years of the K to 12 curriculum, students will go through a core curriculum of eight learning areas and additional subjects (similar to college courses) depending on the track chosen by the students.
The tracks are classified as academics (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math; Accountancy, Business and Management; Humanities, Social Science; and General Academics Stand); technological-vocational (Agri-Fishery Arts; Home Economics; Industrial Arts and Information Communications Technology); sports (Coaching, Officiating, Fitness, Sports, and Recreation Leadership); and arts and design (Production and Performing Arts). (PNA)