Absence of electricity causes poor NAT results in 7 Benguet schools

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WEDNESDAY, 15 JUNE 2011 20:00 LIZA T. AGOOT / CORRESPONDENT

LIGAY, CAMP 1, Tuba, Benguet—For the past three school years, seven elementary schools located in this municipality have been recording a 58-67-percent performance level in the National Assessment Test (NAT) given by the Department of Education (DepEd) to elementary pupils nationwide.

DepEd Tuba district supervisor Nestor Bolayo said these schools include Sioco Carino, Ligay and Piminggan elementary schools (ES), which are all combinations of multi- and monograde-school levels; Torre, Andolor, Saguitlang, Lubas and Lab-ey ES.

These schools are in far-flung and mountain sitios of the town. Many of these areas can only be reached by hiking for hours and have no electric service.

Bolayo said one of the factors that affect the performance of the pupils in the schools includes lack of power or electricity-running equipment used in instruction, which also limits the pupils’ study time and prevents them from reviewing their lessons in school.

The geographical location of the school is also a factor, as children have to walk for hours from their homes to the school. Rainy days affect school attendance: children are prevented by their families from going to school for safety reasons.

Some classrooms also become multiple-grade learning sites occupied by at least two grade levels with low enrollment. The classrooms are separated by a four-foot-high divider and are handled by only one teacher.

The municipality of Tuba has an elementary-student population of 4,137, which is expected to go up to 4,400 this school year.

The availability of materials is another issue affecting the performance of students.