MANILA, Philippines - The government is continuously improving the state of education in public schools in the country, an official of the Department of Education said on Monday.
During an inspection of the school opening at Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City, Education Undersecretary Rizalino Rivera admitted that there are more improvements to be made to address the concerns of the sector.
"We are still far from ideal but we are steadily improving the situation," Rivera said.
Batasan Hills National High School has become a common example of overcrowding due to the high student population in the area and the movement of people to the cities.
"The thing is in other districts of QC the schools are fine. The local government is helping us find and prepare potential school sites," Rivera said, adding that the general problem is distribution and lack of building space.
In collaboration with the local government, private sector, and other stakeholders, DepEd has been able to reduce the number of highly congested schools in the National Capital Region (NCR)—from 120 schools in school year 2011-2012, it is now down to 20 schools.
DepEd has also improved the number of schools implementing three-shift classes.
From 192 in school year 2011-2012, there is only one school that implements three-shift classes in Metro Manila to date, the DepEd figures showed.
"Ang edukasyon ng mga mag-aaral ay hindi lamang responsibilidad ng mga guro at magulang. Ito ay responsibilidad ng buong komunidad," Rivera said.
DepEd’s Oplan Balik Eskwela Action Center at agency's main office in Pasig City will continue to operate until the end of the week to answer queries and receive complaints through (02) 636-1663, (02) 633-1942, or action@deped.gov.ph.