Senior High School registers 1,870 enrolees

EDUCATION TRENDS

Nemia N. Lite

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- One thousand eight hundred seventy (1,870) Grade 11 students have enrolled in senior high schools in this province.  Some 1,566 students accommodated in 22 public senior high schools while 304 learners were taken in by private senior high schools.   

       This was based on the enrollment data of Planning and Research Section of the Schools Division Office of Mountain Province as of June 29. 

       The total number of SHS enrollees in the division was 74.18% of the total Grade 10 completers for the SY 2015-2016.  There were 2,521 students who finished junior high school March this year composed of  2,147 completers from public schools and 374 from private schools. 

        The teachers and school heads of junior high schools were urged to trace their Grade 10 completers to account for the 651 students who did not enroll in the division. 

         A number may have transferred to schools outside the province or region, sources said.  During the early registration in October last year, 298 Grade 10 students signified to enroll in schools outside the division and 73 outside the region.  It is everybody’s desire that all Grade 10 completers continue to Senior High School.  Thus, the need to trace all the Grade 10 completers.

         Among public school Grade 11 students, 758 enrolled in the academic track while 808 opted to take the technical-vocational and livelihood (TVL) track.  Mountain Province does not offer the two other tracks,  sports and arts design, this school year. 

         In the academic track, there are 55 enrollees in Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM), 116 in General Academics (GAS), 279 in Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS), and 308 in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).  In the technical-vocational and livelihood track, 48 enrolled in Agri-fishery, 356 in Home Economics, 326 in Industrial Arts, and 78 in Information and Communication Technology. 

         Among the different TVL specializations offered in the public schools, the most preferred program was bread and pastry production with 257 enrollees. 

         This was followed by automotive servicing with 172 learners and carpentry with 79 students.  The other top preferences are computer programming (47), electrical installation and maintenance (37), and computer service system (31). 

         The TVL specializations with the least enrollees are horticulture (1), organic farming (2), animal production (2), and handicraft (3).  These specializations are taught in a multi-specialization classes to cater to the needs of the few enrollees in these fields.  The other specializations are beauty and nail care (25), tour guiding (22), cookery (16), tailoring (13), caregiving (12), food and beverage services (11), and shielded metal arc welding (21).        

         The private schools caters to 304 Grade 11 students.  Majority of their students enrolled in the academic track.  There are 71 enrollees in ABM, 139 in GAS, 39 in HUMSS, and 37 in STEM.  Although some of the private schools have permits for other TVL specializations, the only specialization with enrollees is Computer Service System with 18 students. The private school SHS providers are Bauko Catholic School, St. James High School of Mountain Province, Xijen College of Mountain Province,  Saint Vincent’s School, and St. Mary’s School of Sagada.

         Students enrolled in the private schools in our division may receive financial assistance from the government through the Senior High School Voucher Program up to P17,500.00.  Completers from the public schools receive the full amount while completers from the private schools who are ESC grantees receive 80% of the full amount or P14,000.00.               A non-ESC completer may avail up to 80% of the grant provided that the student applied during the application period  and that his/her application was approved by DepEd Central Office.  As the grant is used to help defray the tuition and other school fees, the subsidy will be given directly to the schools and not to the students or the parents.  Half or 50% of the amount will be given on the first semester and the other half on the second semester.  The parents are expected to shoulder the difference between the total school fees and the government subsidy.