Colegio de San Lorenzo (CdSL), a family-owned private school in Quezon City, expressed hope that it will be the last private school that will cease its operations due to financial woes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This was not an easy decision, and we fought hard to the end to keep it open,” the CdSL Inc. Board of Trustees (BoT) said in a statement issued Wednesday, Aug. 24. The school formally announced its permanent closure after 35 years of providing education.
“Of the Philippine 400 schools that closed during the pandemic, we hope we will be the last,” the school added.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/19/425-private-schools-have-permanently-closed-amid-the-covid-19-pandemic-deped/
On Aug. 15, CdSL announced its closure --- a week before School Year (SY) 2022-2023 opened on Aug. 22. The announcement caused an uproar as the school reportedly collected fees from incoming students.
Due to its sudden closure, the Department of Education (DepEd) met the school’s officials mainly to know the status of the affected students.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/17/deped-to-meet-with-colegio-de-san-lorenzo-on-closure-issue/
Decision to close
CdSL said that the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the low enrollment turnout over the past two years.
“We were hopeful that we could stop the closure from happening,” the school said. Despite the Covid-19 lockdowns, CdSL said it lowered student fees and subsidized school operations using the family’s funds.
While the school tried to find an investor to acquire the school and operationalize it even if the family can no longer be part of it, “enrollment had not recovered, an investor did not materialize, and we realized that the school could no longer be rescued.”
Private schools have been bearing the brunt of the pandemic with low enrollment turnout. As of Aug. 18, data from DepEd showed that there were 2.6 million enrolled learners in private schools --- a far cry from the pre-pandemic enrollment turnout of four million.
“We hope that what happened to Colegio de San Lorenzo will not happen to other schools, especially those that are family-owned,” the BoT said.
On affected students
Meanwhile, CdSL assured that it continues to work with the DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to help the students transition to other schools.
“Without cost, we are releasing the transcripts of records for all students to their owners, helping them obtain their academic credentials,” the school said.
CdSL added that it is also working with other schools and universities that are willing to absorb its students. Booths of schools that extended help to CdSL were also set up in its gym where students can process their transfers seamlessly.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/18/deped-seeks-help-from-other-private-schools-to-absorb-displaced-cdsl-students/
The school also assured that the tuition fees will all be refunded. As of Aug. 24, CdSL said that “all the checks have been prepared to be claimed.”
“We have already refunded 100 percent of tuition fees for K-12, Basic Education, and more than half of the tuition fees of the college students have been processed,” the school said.
Affected parents and students were asked to coordinate with the school for the refunds. CdSL said its offices will be open until Sept. 20, 2022, for those who would want to collect their refunds later.
An open line of communication to reach out to “everyone who has been affected” will also be established, CdSL said.
Meanwhile, CdSL also assured that aside from students and parents, it will see to it that the teachers and employees will also be taken cared of.
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https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/19/listen-to-parents-deped-asked-to-allow-private-schools-to-continue-blended-learning/