Department of Education (DepEd) Lapu-Lapu City Division Superintendent Wilfreda Bongalos said the low number of enrollees and their difficulty to hold online classes were the two main reasons for the closures.
The nine private schools that had opted to stop operations are a mix of elementary and high schools, said Bongalos.
Only 70 private schools continued to operate amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. Fourteen of these schools have joined the implementation of limited face-to-face classes since March 2022.
She remained optimistic that the operations of the schools that had closed down will someday return to normal.
“Let’s be positive all the time,” Bongalos said although the nine schools have not yet signified their intention to reopen for SY 2022-2023, which will begin on August 22.
Repairs on ‘Odette’ hit schools
Bongalos said repairs and assessments are still ongoing on school facilities in the city that incurred damage during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette (Rai) in December 2021.
Lapu-Lapu City has 81 public schools. More than half the number or 44 are elementary schools; while 27 and 10 are junior high and senior high schools, respectively.
Based on their initial assessment, Bongalos said majority of the schools have damaged facilities; but the DepEd hopes to finish the repairs before the resumption of five-day face-to-face classes on November 2 with the help of the Lapu-Lapu City Government and other sectors.
Bongalos said a meeting with representatives of the 70 private schools has been set on July 18 to discuss their readiness for the opening of classes.
She expressed hope that all private schools in the city will join limited face-to-face classes this August and fully transition to face-to-face classes five days per week in November.
Bongalos said about 110,000 enrollees in public schools are expected this school year adding that they had around 107,000 enrolled students the past school year.