TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – A master list of schools with government’s permit to operate will be posted by the DepEd-Region 8 in a bid to stop the enrolment of children in unlicensed schools, according to a PIA-8 report the other day.
DepEd-8’s Luisa Bautista Yu, in a memorandum, said: “The master list of schools with government permit will be posted in the regional office, city and municipal halls, schools and other conspicuous places for parents to check and be guided whether their children are enrolled in a school duly permitted or recognized by the department.â€
DepEd’s field officials received instructions to step up the monitoring of any unlicensed school. This crackdown on learning centers that failed to meet requirements resulted in only 265 privately-owned basic education schools in the region operating with permits.
DepEd reported that of the 265 schools with permit to operate, 142 are in Leyte province, 39 in Southern Leyte, 36 in Northern Samar, 23 in Eastern Samar, 18 in Samar (Western Samar) and seven in Biliran.
Yu said no school with pending application was granted authority to accept enrolees. However, schools without permit were allowed to accept learners for pre-nursery and nursery education but with the approval from the DSWD. (FREEMAN)