PUBLIC schools here opened for a new schoolyear last Monday, June 5, to a relatively less busy stream of student traffic in most schools, an indication that most pupils and parents were not in a rush to start with their academic activity after the long summer break.

City schools division officials said they can not yet determine if there will be any classroom shortage because the enrollment is still going on and may continue up to July.

“Records of enrollees are yet to be consolidated, so we cannot say if the enrollment has increased or decreased,” explained Socorro Ramos, Education Supervisor I of the city schools division.

Classrooms, chairs, blackboards and books, she said, are now all ready, including the teachers who are sufficient in number, she reported.

Ramos said the Department of Education increases the supply of books every year to support the students studying in public schools while chairs and classroom are repaired before the start of classes. She said they expect more enrollees as well as transferees to come until next week.

Jose Flores, Division Planning Officer, admitted the number of enrollees last year decreased by 1,000 from 19,200 in year 2004 to 18,200 in 2005.

Flores cited poverty as one of the reasons for the decrease. Parents had no choice but to stop their children from going to school as they could no longer support their studies even as some pupils drop out after incurring many absences.