Batac City breaks ground for school building in prep to K to 12

BATAC CITY, January 29 (PIA) – The city schools division of Batac (CSDB) has broken ground for the construction of its third school building that will be used for Senior High School (SHS) in preparation for the K to 12 programs of the Department of Education (DepEd).

During the Kapihan sa CSDB on Thursday, Aileen V. Joaquin, principal of the Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School (MMMES) where the building will be constructed, said that the SHS classroom is a two-storey structure consisting of four classrooms.

“This will be the third SHS classroom constructed in the division funded by the DepEd and the land owned by the city government of Batac,” Joaquin said.

According to Vilma D. Eda, division schools superintendent, there are five public schools and three private schools in Batac City that are set to offer SHS namely: Batac National High School—Bungon and Payao campuses; Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School; and the Billoca Elementary School for public while in private are the Immaculate Concepcion Academy; Batac Institute; and Batac Junior High School.

“This endeavor is in line with the preparation on the full implementation of the SHS program which aims for a smooth operation of classes starting school year 2016-2017,” Eda said.

She said that aside from classroom preparations, teachers were also being prepared for the implementation of the program with various training and seminars.

Meanwhile, Batac City Mayor Jeffrey Nalupta during the ground breaking ceremony, emphasized the importance of making preparations especially for the construction of buildings where the students will be accommodated.

He said the Batac City government always extends its support to any undertaking of the CSDB. He also cited his concern for the benefit of students noting that the building site is owened by the city government.

The Standalone SHS in MMMES will offer General Academic Strand and the area of specialization will be Creative Industries, Accountancy, Business & Management, and Creative Writing/Nonfiction.

As per data during the Early Registration for SHS last November 2015, it has a prospective enrolment of 146 students this coming school year. (Cherry Joy D. Garma/PIA1-Ilocos Norte)