 Schools
The relatively good high level of educational achievement levels in Sipalay is indicative of the accessibility of basic educational services offered by the City and adjacent areas. Overall, education is relatively accessible. All barangays have at least one-Day Care Center or pre-school. In some barangays, as much as three to seven day care centers can be found, most of which are under the supervision of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWD), with a few privately administered. There are a total of 55 pre-schools distributed among the 17 barangays, which provide pre-school learning programs.
Primary/elementary education is also relatively available even to the most far-flung barangays. There are 30 public and 1 private elementary schools all throughout the City with a total of 300 classrooms. Each barangay (except the adjacent urban barangays 1 and 2) has at least one elementary school while the more progressive ones have more like Camindangan, which has 7 elementary schools and Nabulao, Manlucahoc and Canturay which have three each.
Enrolment at the elementary level for school year 2003-2004 reached a total of 13,090 students registering a slight increase of one percent from school year 2001-2002. Current classroom-student ratio is 1:44 , which is slightly better than the DEC's standard of 1:45 . Classrooms appear to be more than adequate on the average. However, this is true only for some 53 percent of the elementary schools where the classroom-student ratio range from 1:27 to 1:45 . The rest has a classroom-student ratio ranging from 1:46 to a high of 1:182 implying that there is still a large inadequacy of classrooms in many elementary schools, which is not conducive to quality learning.
The teacher-student ratio, on the other hand, is 1:40 , which falls slightly short but almost meeting the DEC's standard ratio of one teacher per 39 students. Again, this may be true for some schools in some barangays but not for all.
Elementary Education Profile, Sipalay City , SY 2003-2004
Item Number Total
Public Private
Number of Schools 30 1 31
Enrolment (SY 2003-2004) 12,829 261 13,090
Number of Classrooms 293 7 624
Number of Teachers 324 6 330
Ave Classroom-Student Ratio 1:44 1:37
Ave Teacher-Student Ratio 1:40 1:44
Source: Sipalay Socioeconomic Profile, 2004
At the secondary level of education, there are two main secondary schools located at Gil Montilla ( Gil Montilla National High School ) and Nabulao (Nabulao National High Scholl) with 12 extension schools (in Barangay 5, Binulig, Cabadiangan, Camindangan, Canturay, Cartagena , Manlucahoc, Tanduay, Maricalum and Cayhagan) or a total of 14 high schools. Barangays without a high school such as some of those in the poblacion have access to nearby schools. Enrollment was placed at 4,736 for school year 2003-2004 registering a decrease by about 16 percent compared to SY 2001-2002. Current classroom-student ratio is 1:46 on the average, which is slightly better compared to 1:48 during SY 2001-2002 mainly due to the decrease in enrollment. The teacher-student ratio today, on the other hand, improved to 1:43 from almost 1:48 in SY 2001-2002. Based on DEC's standard of 1:48 for classroom-student ratio and 1:47.5 for teacher-student ratio, Sipalay's elementary schools are well within the required standard if not slightly better.
Secondary School Enrollment as of SY 2003-2004
Item Number
Public Private
Number of Schools 12 2
Enrolment (SY 2003-2004) 4,736 750
Number of Classrooms 97 21
Number of Teachers 107 22
Ave Classroom-Student Ratio 1:49 1:36
Ave Teacher-Student Ratio 1:44 1:34
Source: Sipalay Socioeconomic Profile, 2004
At the tertiary level education, only two schools of higher learning can be found in Sipalay which is accessible mainly to the urban/lowland barangays: one private college and one State College extension campus. There is also one Technical/Vocational School offering short-term technical courses. The combined enrolment in SY 2001-2002 was placed at 616 students with 14 classrooms and 46 teachers.
Tertiary School Enrollment as of SY 2003-2004
School No. of Teachers No. of Classroom
Cabarrus Catholic College 19 7
Negros Occ Agricultural College 13 4
St. Jerome Polytechnic College 14 3
Total 46 14
Source: Sipalay Socioeconomic Profile, 2004
There are 13 school buildings and a total of 54 classrooms constructed under the Logofind Project in eight barangays.
The high functional literacy, relatively good access to basic education and good educational achievement in Sipalay is a sound investment in human capital for development.
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