Creation of 2 new Baguio national high schools signed into law

January 9, 2022 Metro BLISTT

More youth in Baguio City will be able to enjoy standard quality education after Malacañang signed into law the conversion of two high school annexes in Baguio City into independent national high schools.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11623 and Republic Act No. 11624, converting the Fort del Pilar and Hillside Annexes of the Baguio City National High Schools into independent national high schools, respectively.
Baguio City representative Mark Go, who authored both measures, said that he is pleased that the conversion of the Fort del Pilar and Hillside annexes has been signed into law in order to ensure that Baguio City’s youth enjoy a more inclusive access to quality education.
Rep. Go said that the high school annexes were created in order to support Baguio City National High School’s increasing student population, which saw a total number of 8,257 enrollees in June 2019.
However, with limited staff and resources, these schools are under-equipped to cater to more students from surrounding neighborhoods without sacrificing the quality of instruction and learning.
The Fort del Pilar annex has 778 students and 29 teachers, while the Hillside annex has 230 students and 9 teachers. Rep. Go said that the schools will cater to students from surrounding barangays so they can have access to a national high school and relieve its mother school from the burden of overpopulation.
The Baguio representative added that the conversion of these annexes will allow these schools to accommodate more students and provide them with a conducive learning environment, with improved facilities and adequate student-teacher ratio.
The conversion would also provide more efficient services by decentralizing leadership, management, and school supervision. It would also allow these former annexes to manage its maintenance and other operating expenses, as well as the establishment of its own plantilla positions as deemed necessary.
Rep. Go added that improving the access and quality of basic education was imperative especially in Baguio City, as it continues to flourish as a technology, tourism and investment hub in Northern Luzon.