DepEd-7 Ready for First Batch of 84,000 Grade 11 Students in Central Visayas

The Department of Education (DepEd) 7 is “fully prepared” for the first batch of some 84,000 Grade 11 students in Central Visayas on June 13, an official said.

DepEd 7 Senior High Coordinator Tomas Pastor said the agency is “95 percent ready” for the first batch of senior high school (SHS) students.

“By hook or by crook, senior high will proceed,” Pastor said.

The construction of 1,249 additional classrooms in the 13 divisions of Central Visayas for SHS is expected to be finished by October.

“In the first cohort, we have an initial allocation of 2,117 classrooms. This year, we hope to finish 3,581 classrooms,” Pastor said.

The first cohort refers to the number of classrooms needed in order to house the Grade 11 students.

The second cohort is for Grade 12, which will start only next school year.

Pastor said the DepEd intends to build more classrooms than their initial target this year, in order to start the construction for the second cohort early.

Pastor said the “catch-up plan” is to increase the number of students per section, in order to free some of the functional classrooms, which Grade 11 students can then use. (PNA) LAP/EB/EDS