Leyte school notes big drop in enrolment due to K to 12

TACLOBAN CITY, June 30 (PNA) -– State-run Leyte Normal University (LNU) noted a big drop in freshman enrolment this school year with the full implementation of senior high school (SHS) program, but its president said this is an opportunity for teachers to pursue further studies.

From the usual 2,000 freshman enrolment every year, the number dropped to only 100 this school year, said LNU President Jude Duarte.

LNU, a premier school in this city offering teacher education and other courses, is just one of the many schools in the country affected by the implementation of SHS, which covers the last two years of the Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education.

The school, with a population of 8,000 students, declined to offer Grades 11 and 12, according to Duarte since their mandate is to provide tertiary education.

“This is an opportunity for our faculty to finish their doctoral degrees. Imagine two years from now, almost all of us will be doctorate degree holders. At the end of the day, students will benefit from these faculty members, who are more qualified to teach,” Duarte said.

Currently, only 40 percent of the LNU’s teaching forces are doctors. After two years, the number is expected to double.

More than 20 faculty members have availed scholarships and were sent to top schools in Manila or Cebu for their studies.

LNU came into being in 1921 as the Provincial Normal School, a mere adjunct of the Leyte High School. It eventually outgrew its base becoming a two-year collegiate training institution in 1938.

It became a degree-granting four-year college complete with a training department in 1952. It was then known as Leyte Normal School.

On June 14, 1976, it was converted into the Leyte State College by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 944, signed by then Pres. Ferdinand Marcos.

On February 23, 1995, the college was converted into the Leyte Normal University though Republic Act 7910.

Sometime in April 1996, the university was proclaimed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as the Center of Excellence for Teacher Education in Eastern Visayas from 1996 to 2001. Then in August 2008, CHED again awarded LNU as Center of Excellence for Teacher Education from 2008 to 2011.

Today, aside from teacher education, LNU also offers communication, tourism, hotel and restaurant, social work, entrepreneurship, and political science studies. (PNA)
JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO