ALKHOBAR, 30 June 2006 — The International Philippine School in Alkhobar (IPSA) has reported an increase in its enrollment this school year, and that most of the new students are new to the Kingdom.
School Principal Veronica Punsalan said the school has 810 students, an 11 percent increase from last school year's 730.
What the increase in number of students who are new in the Kingdom indicates is that there are new families arriving from Philippines, Punsalan said. “OFWs who have been working in the Kingdom for so many years have opted to bring their families here to stay with them,” she explained.
Punsalan said the other additional students are preschoolers as well as transferees from other Filipino schools not only from the Eastern Region but from Riyadh.
According to the registrar’s record provided by Karina Agregado, IPSA enrolled 122 pre-school pupils, 435 pupils in the elementary level, and 246 students in high school.
IPSA started with only 137 schoolchildren in 1989 when it was then the Philippine Embassy School in Alkhobar (PESA). School records showed that the school had graduated 300 high school students in its 17 years of existence.
IPSA formed a new governing board this year, with Delfin Lumberio, whose chairmanship was questioned last year, retaining his position. The members are Joselito Santos, Willie Lanzon, Mohammad Ho, and Conrado Ibasco.
Last year, some parents questioned the degree qualification of Lumberio, saying his Associate in Marine Engineering course is short of the school board’s requirement.
But Lumberio argued that his being a licensed Marine Engineer and his long work experience in his profession should suffice.
He showed to Arab News a certification issued by Commissioner Saturnino Ocampo Jr., officer-in-charge of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) in Manila. The letter was addressed to Abdullah Eid Al-Hadba, director of Parallel Education at the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Dammam.
Ocampo wrote that the commission found Lumberio's degree and license as marine engineer, issued by the Professional Regulation Commission in Manila, to be sufficient in meeting the requirement being asked by the Formation Rules for Administrative Board of Foreign School.
Lumberio is confident that he can win back the trust and support of all IPSA parents for his chairmanship. His report to parents shows a robust development program for the school.
Apart from the expansion and improvement of classrooms, facilities and bus service, IPSA hired 10 new teachers, including five directly from the Philippines. The school will also implement this academic year the salary standardization for all its employees as approved by the governing board last year.
