Council wants city to improve system of basic education

The city council is suggesting that the city improve its system of basic education.

This was one of the outputs of the Strategic Planning Seminar Workshop which the council conducted recently.

The two-year goal also aims to improve the process of hiring teachers for night high schools, institutionalization of pre-school and night high schools, and logistical support.

Among the projects outlined for the programs include a decentralized procurement of books and curriculum design making, to professionalize the teaching profession by stopping the appointment of DepEd non-career officials, adoption of an Education Code of Cebu City, formulation of a system of hiring qualified and competent teachers, formulation of policy to institutionalize pre-schools and night high schools, and logistical support.

Legislative measures are also in place to implement the projects including a resolution to urge Congress to legislate decentralization, to make DepEd an independent or Constitutional body, to adopt an Education Code of the city, a resolution to enhance the teachers' training program and improve teaching modules, and an ordinance that would lobby for logistical support from the national government.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña is bent on publishing the result of the qualifying examination for teachers in the city after the examination conducted last summer yielded only 90 teacher-applicants out of the 1,248 that took the examination. The outcome of the examination was still low despite DepEd lowering the passing rate from 75 percent to 60 percent.

"I'm thinking aloud whether I should have it published," Osmeña had told reporters, saying that it may be better for the public to know which schools produce the better teachers.

The low turnout prompted Osmeña to open the hiring to applicants outside Cebu City and for the city government to advertise the same in the local newspapers and radio to fast track the recruitment. - Joeberth M. Ocao