DAMMAM, 20 June — The Philippine School in Dammam (PSD) has reported an increase in number of enrollees this school year, attributing it to lower tuition, improved facilities and the introduction of the Basic Education Curriculum.

During the Parents Orientation Seminar held recently at PSD, principal Lita Rolluda said that the school has remarkably enrolled this year some 289 students, a six percent increase from its last school year’s closing figure of 272 students. Of the 289, there are 67 registered as new students which includes 34 in preparatory, 25 in elementary, and eight in high school.

The school will likely pass the 300-mark as some of the old students are not yet back from vacation, according to its school registrar Lydia Magtanong. She confirmed that most of the 67 new students, except the 16 pupils in the nursery, are transferees from other Filipino and international schools in the Eastern Province.

Some parents opted to transfer their children to PSD due to the lower tuition fees compared with other Filipino schools. Other transferees were from the international schools in Dammam having Western standards. The parents said that they have to transfer their children to PSD so that they can adjust to the new BEC introduced by the Filipino schools. These will prepare the students should they return back to the Philippines once their parents had no more jobs to keep in the Kingdom. Magtanong admitted that there are a few students whose families went home already for good before this school year started.

Romy Novelles, the chairman of PSD’s school board, said that the PSD had grown bigger since its existence seven years ago. Founded in 1995 as the Philippine Embassy School in Dammam (PESD), the school had originally only 119 students.

“We believed that we will pass the 300-mark this school year. With our improved school facilities and acquisition of new laboratory equipment and computer sets which will provide our children free internet education, you parents made a good decision in entrusting your children to PSD,” Novelles said explaining that with this growing population the school is ready to expand its premises. PSD is now operating on its 8th school year.