Even while I was getting ready for my trip to Manila, Mifu had been contemplating about enrolling Raheel in a school there. Luckily, one of Mifu’s MDM classmates has some connections at the Makati DepEd (Education Department) and she helped us. She recommended an elementary school where it was possible to enroll Raheel.
I brought all the necessary certificates of Raheel from Guwahati. Just before the Christmas break, we visited the Pio Del Pilar School to meet the Principal. The ride took us nearly 10 to 15 minutes by a jeepney. It was quite convenient and the jeepney stops right in front of the school! No problem with the communication, I thought.
The Principal, Dr. Leticia Rosales gave us a warm reception. She showed keen interest in enrolling Raheel as a guest pupil in the kindergarten section of her school. Since Christmas was round the corner, Dr. Rosales asked us to meet her in the first week of January when the school would re-open after the holidays. She suggested that an approval letter from the Makati DepEd would make things more official. So the next day, Mifu accompanied his classmate Ms. Dals to get an approval from the secretary of Education for the enrollment of Raheel in a local school.
Classes at Pio Del Pilar resumed on 4th Jan 2010. We reached school around 11.45 and went to see the Principal. She called one of her Kindergarten teacher Ms. Luciano. Raheel is to be accommodated in her class as a guest pupil. At 12.30pm, the afternoon session began and all of us walked to Raheel’s new class. There were about 20 children between 5 – 6 years. The Principal explained to the kids that they would have a new friend from India in the class.
Raheel said a shy’ hello’ to his new classmates and they replied “hi Raheel” in chorus. We came out of the room while Ms. Luciano began to sing some rhymes to the children. Though we didn’t eat our lunch before leaving for school, I had packed tiffin for Raheel just to be on the safe side. And it worked! Both Mifu & I roamed about within the school premises, exploring the surrounding. What struck us was that despite being a government run school, each classroom had an AC. The building is a four storied one with an assembly area on the ground floor, equipped with announcement room and everything. Raheel’s class is on the ground floor. Moreover, meals (soups, macaroni or noodles), dry snack & fruit juices make rounds in all the rooms daily. Students can buy these at subsidized rates.
The Principal’s office surprised us. It is quite luxurious so to speak. Plush sofas with satin cushions, a huge dining table and expensive decorative pieces adorned the room! Impressive indeed!! We wondered about the dilapidated situation of govt. schools of Axom. Lessons to be learnt from here. Another interesting thing is that the teachers have different colored uniforms for the six days of the week! That made teaching more fun, I guess.
So began Raheel’s new learning experience in the Philippines.
I brought all the necessary certificates of Raheel from Guwahati. Just before the Christmas break, we visited the Pio Del Pilar School to meet the Principal. The ride took us nearly 10 to 15 minutes by a jeepney. It was quite convenient and the jeepney stops right in front of the school! No problem with the communication, I thought.
The Principal, Dr. Leticia Rosales gave us a warm reception. She showed keen interest in enrolling Raheel as a guest pupil in the kindergarten section of her school. Since Christmas was round the corner, Dr. Rosales asked us to meet her in the first week of January when the school would re-open after the holidays. She suggested that an approval letter from the Makati DepEd would make things more official. So the next day, Mifu accompanied his classmate Ms. Dals to get an approval from the secretary of Education for the enrollment of Raheel in a local school.
Classes at Pio Del Pilar resumed on 4th Jan 2010. We reached school around 11.45 and went to see the Principal. She called one of her Kindergarten teacher Ms. Luciano. Raheel is to be accommodated in her class as a guest pupil. At 12.30pm, the afternoon session began and all of us walked to Raheel’s new class. There were about 20 children between 5 – 6 years. The Principal explained to the kids that they would have a new friend from India in the class.
Raheel said a shy’ hello’ to his new classmates and they replied “hi Raheel” in chorus. We came out of the room while Ms. Luciano began to sing some rhymes to the children. Though we didn’t eat our lunch before leaving for school, I had packed tiffin for Raheel just to be on the safe side. And it worked! Both Mifu & I roamed about within the school premises, exploring the surrounding. What struck us was that despite being a government run school, each classroom had an AC. The building is a four storied one with an assembly area on the ground floor, equipped with announcement room and everything. Raheel’s class is on the ground floor. Moreover, meals (soups, macaroni or noodles), dry snack & fruit juices make rounds in all the rooms daily. Students can buy these at subsidized rates.
The Principal’s office surprised us. It is quite luxurious so to speak. Plush sofas with satin cushions, a huge dining table and expensive decorative pieces adorned the room! Impressive indeed!! We wondered about the dilapidated situation of govt. schools of Axom. Lessons to be learnt from here. Another interesting thing is that the teachers have different colored uniforms for the six days of the week! That made teaching more fun, I guess.
So began Raheel’s new learning experience in the Philippines.
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