TO ensure a smooth and orderly opening of classes on Aug. 29, the Quezon City government is gearing up all of its efforts and resources to help students and teachers for school year 2023-2024.
The Quezon City Schools Division Office is expecting over 458,000 students for the school year.
“Education is a community responsibility. We want to make sure that our children are given the right tools, environment, and guidance to help them learn and develop their potential,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
Being one of the localities with the highest student population, Quezon City strives to address the challenges that remain present in the education sector, primarily school congestion and quality of learning.
In coordination with the Schools Division Office, the city government shall implement various strategies to address classroom shortage, such the construction of mid-rise school buildings and institutionalization of blended learning.
“Congestion is still an issue since QC is the biggest division in the country in terms of student population and there are no more buildable spaces. We have started building vertically in some areas. We are also institutionalizing the blended learning modality. Congested grades will shift to blended modality where there will be three days of face-to-face classes and two days of asynchronous or synchronous classes,” Belmonte said.
“Together with the Schools Division Office and the Education Affairs Unit, we are also considering a school service or bus system to transfer excess students to QC schools that have not reached their full absorptive capacity,” she added.
The city is in the process of introducing the QC Voucher system for elementary learners similar to what is being done now at the senior high school level, where students would be given a voucher to enroll in accredited QC private schools.
It is also open to leasing unused buildings in private schools that can serve as extension facilities to congested public schools.