City of San Fernando, Pampanga – A total of 478 schools in Central Luzon that will implement the Senior High School (SHS) Program in SY 2016-2017 has been identified after the partial list was formally released by the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City. The announcement is part of the continuous preparations for the full implementation of the K to 12 program.

207 DepEd schools are included in the initial list, along with 271 non-DepEd schools comprised of private schools, higher education institutions (HEIs), technical vocational institutions (TVIs), and state universities and colleges (SUCs).

To highlight the intensive preparations being undertaken for the SHS implementation in the different divisions of Region III, a Multi-Sectoral Conference in support of K to 12 was held last May 9 at the Gabaldon Building in Pulungbulu, Angeles City. DepEd Undersecretary for Regional Operations Rizalino Rivera led the said activity and thanked the full support of the local government of Angeles City represented by Mayor Ed Pamintuan and Vice Mayor Vicky Vega-Cabigting.

The Division of Angeles City has laid out an exemplary SHS implementation plan by strategically distributing and mapping out the SHS slots to be offered in both DepEd and non-DepEd schools.

DepEd Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC said that “the 2014 and 2015 budgets already have allocations for 30,000 classrooms for SHS.” He also mentioned that the initial target for the proposed 2016 budget, which is subject for approval, is over 20,000 classrooms for SHS. The government shall further allocate investments for SHS.

The partial list shows 3,839 public schools that were submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for funding and to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for bidding and construction. Also included is the initial list of the 1,866 non-DepEd schools, which include private schools, HEIS, TVIs, LUCs, and SUCs that have been cleared to offer SHS come June 2016. There are still applications being processed.•