ARMM ready for the implementation of senior high school program

Cotabato City (June 17, 2016) – The Education department in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM) is now ready for the implementation of the senior high school program, the centerpiece of the new K to 12 basic education system.

Out of 304 public secondary schools in the region, the DepEd-ARMM has already identified a total of 156 that offer senior high school program. The region is expecting around 35,000 Grade 11 students this school year, the pioneering batch of senior high school students.

This year’s program covers the last two years of the K to 12 and includes Grades 11 and 12. In senior high school, students will go through a core curriculum and subjects under a track of their choice.

It will allow students to choose from specific tracks namely: academic, technical-vocational-livelihood, arts and design, and sports. These tracks will prepare future graduates should they decide to pursue higher education (college), seek immediate employment, or become entrepreneurs.

Marjuni Maddi, DepEd-ARMM’s assistant secretary for academics, admitted there are still problems in the implementation of the program such as lack of teachers as well as classrooms that are still under construction.

“Yes, we still have problems but we are doing our best to accommodate the students and we assure them (we would) fix these problems as soon as we can,” Asec Maddi said. “On June 13, the first day of school, we actually visited schools to see the students’ situation,” he added.

Asec. Maddi said the department will fill up 933 senior high school teaching positions this year.

The expected salaries of senior high school teachers will range from P19,940 to P39,493 monthly. Applicants will be ranked according to DepEd’s criteria for evaluation and selection process.

Early this year, the ARMM’s Public Works and Highways department started constructing 819 classrooms for senior high school. “Ang mga classrooms na ipapatayo ay para sa full implementation ng K to 12 program sa ARMM (The classrooms to be constructed are for the full implementation of K to 12 program in ARMM),” DepEd-ARMM Secretary Dr. John Magno said.

The projects are worth more than P1 billion from DepEd-ARMM’s 2015 Basic Education Facilities Fund. The Division of Maguindanao I will receive the largest number of projects with 165 classrooms worth more than P158 million.

Among the schools in the province where senior high school classrooms would be built is the Guindulungan National High School in the town of Guindulungan. Two one-storey structures with three classrooms each with a total cost of P5.3 million will be built in the school. (BPI-ARMM)