Rep. Zubiri bats for separate DepEd division office for southern Bukidnon

 By MEL N. VELEZ

 MARAMAG, BUKIDNON - Former Governor and now Congressman of the 3rd district Jose Maria Zubiri Jr. is pushing to establish an additional education division office in Bukidnon.

Bukidnon has a land area of 10,498.59 square kilometers, according to Cong. Zubiri’s explanatory note to House Bill 4920, Mindanao's largest province.

Cong. Jose Maria Zubiri, Jr.

Furthermore, the Bukidnon school division is the largest school division of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the entire Region 10, Northern Mindanao, with a teacher population of approximately 11 thousand that covers the 20 municipalities.

Cong. Zubiri Jr. introduced House Bill 4920 which intends to include ten municipalities (10) in that measure, to be known as the South School Division Office, and will be constructed in the town of Maramag.

The proposed bill also stated that dividing the province's school division into two (2) will give additional manpower and considerably strengthen the competency and capacities of the teachers and school administrators of the two School Divisions, resulting in excellence in academic achievements.

Cong. Zubiri Jr. requests Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte to include immediately in the Department's program the operationalization of the South School Division Office, which covers the third (3rd) and fourth (4th) districts, respectively, and that the initial funding will be charged with the DepEd funding, and that the office's continued operation be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Bukidnon School Division Superintendent Randolph Tortola firmly supports the creation of another school division office in the South, and he is optimistic that the separation will be established soon.

Tortola was the first school division superintendent in Valencia City before being sent to Iligan City, Misamis Oriental, and is now back in Bukidnon.

Margie Bayagna, a former school principal of Valencia City Central School (VCCES) and current Public Schools District Supervisor of DepEd Valencia City Division, gave her favorable nod for the establishment of a school division in Southern Bukidnon, saying its benefits would be enormous if it is approved.

The opening of the South School Division Office in Maramag, according to Bayagna, who has worked for the government-run school system for 35 years, would have a cascading effect on the work that DepEd employees do after being split apart because their area of work will become narrower.

This is also advantageous in administering the school division office, such as operations, accessibility of teachers and district supervisors, parents, transactions, and stakeholders, among others, because they no longer go to the school division in Malaybalay City. 

Furthermore, teachers who were previously assigned faraway places and who are not from South Bukidnon have an excellent possibility of being assigned close to where they live, according to Bayagna.

Valencia's city school division was founded in 2004 and separated after the cityhood establishment, as was Malaybalay City in 2008, which also separated from the mother division.

Bayagna said the South School Division Office opening in Maramag is an affirmation that "no child is left behind when it comes to education" and will help bridge the gap between the urban centers and the remote rural areas of the province.