MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/05 June) – Bukidnon needs additional education supervisors or subject area specialists for its 500 elementary and 50 high schools, Dr. Ingrid Racoma, schools division superintendent of the Department of Education, said Tuesday.
The figure does not include those of Malaybalay and Valencia cities, which exist as separate divisions.
She said the division has about 7,000 teachers but only has 12 subject area specialists.
“Camiguin, on the other hand, which has about 2,000 teachers only, has the same number of supervisors,” she pointed out.
She clarified that subject area specialists are not the same as the district supervisors.
“We should have at least double the number of supervisors as we have now,” she said, adding Bukidnon is a big division.
She said the problem is affecting the quality of instruction of the teachers.
“The few supervisors can only visit and observe a few, too. How can they ensure monitoring of quality?” she said.
Racoma cited as example the problem of teachers who do not use the textbooks in their regular classes.
“If they do, they need to read the books themselves before they use it. Many of them do not do that,” she added.
Monitoring of teachers, she stressed, is as important as hiring new teachers.
But she clarified that they are not complaining. “We are only trying to present the situation.”
Racoma added four of their supervisors have been promoted but have not been confirmed yet.
She said the four officials are still in the plantilla of the division pending the confirmation.
“They have to fast tract the promotion process, so we could hire replacements,” she said. (Walter I. Balane)
