KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/18 January) – Citing additional financial burden on the part of the parents, Vice Mayor Joseph Evangelista is proposing a ban on the printing of yearbooks in all school levels here, urging schools to go electronic instead.
Evangelista, also chair of the Sangguniang Panglunsod, said “most of the parents, guardians, and even the students are worried as to how they would produce the money for the yearbook. And we’re not talking here of hundreds of pesos but thousands, which is quite big for poor and middle class families.”
Instead of hardbound yearbooks, Evangelista proposed that electronic copies of photographs of the graduates, faculty, and other school activities be given for a fee to students as souvenir.
The compiled photographs and activities can be downloaded from the main computer files to any storage data, according to the proposed ordinance.
The e-copy, he explained, is a lot cheaper compared to bookbound yearbooks. Also, copies of the photos from the storage data can be printed anytime, anywhere.
“They can just select the photos they like, print them, and keep them forever,” he said.
Hermie Duga-Duga, one of the parents in one of the public schools here, said he agrees with the proposal, adding that the ban on printed yearbooks can help minimize corruption,.
“We hear parents and students complain about the delay in the printing of the yearbooks. There were cases where the money intended for the yearbook were used by the teachers who were in-charge of the collection,” he said.
Not one of the teachers believed to have been involved in corruption has been prosecuted, he said.
Once approved and passed into law, a school that would violate the ordinance is liable to pay P10,000 as penalty.
The proposal to ban the printing of yearbooks is one of the issues that will be discussed during a public hearing and consultation scheduled here on Friday.
The proposal is undergoing scrutiny by the Committee on Education, Culture, and Arts chaired by City councilor Jivy Roe Bombeo.
Bombeo said results of the public hearing and consultation would be submitted to the Sanggunian for deliberation. (Malu Cadelina-Manar/MindaNews)