Quality education from a distance

Profile story for Hilaan National High School, Bontoc, Southern Leyte

“Five peso more and you are will already reach heaven.”

This is a cliché common to most of the schools located in the mountainous part of the Philippines. With schools in this areas, one could say heaven is almost at the tip of their fingers. One of these schools is Hilaan National High School (HNHS) in Bontoc, Southern Leyte.

Despite the 18-km distance from the highway, HNHS has 358 enrollees where majority of the students still excel academically. Even though it costs almost 100 pesos for the motorcycle fare, HNHS actively participates in the secondary activities organized by Department of Education (DepEd). They do not just participate, they also win.

The distance and the road going to HNHS is both a curse and a blessing. A curse because of the bumpy ride, the rocky roads and the apparent danger because of the cliff on the road sides. Passing through these roads is sometimes next to impossible if there is a heavy rain downpour. At the same time, most of the teachers of HNHS consider the distance as a “blessing” instead.

The location of Hilaan National High School subjects HNHS to be exempted of periodic visits from the regional office of DepEd. Being exempted means lesser expenses and lesser class interruptions as observed by the students and teachers alike. Even though they often get exempted, it does not mean that the quality of their education is of less quality compared to those schools from the city.

In addition to proving the fact that distance is not a hindrance to quality education, HNHS has been chosen as a recipient school of the iSchools project. This project of President Gloria Arroyo is being implemented by the Commission of Information and Communication Technology (CICT) in partnership with the different state universities and colleges of the country. The project gives twenty one computers to the recipient school and an internet connection.

With the internet connection and the state-of-the-art computers given by the iSchools project, HNHS will now be more connected with world. It will not just encourage the students to do better; it will also improve the quality of education.

HNHS, being a recipient of the iSchools project, implementing and sustaining the project itself needs strong leadership to guide the school in this big opportunity. HNHS is lucky to have Ms. Evangeline Maraon as their head teacher. She does not just have the convincing power of a saleswoman; she also has this strong connection with the local government officials. It helps a lot to have a strong rapport especially in asking for financial support. HNHS is also gifted with dedicated and talented teachers.

Strong leader, dedicated teachers and students that excel: these are just but some of the assets of Hilaan National High School. These assets help HNHS to prove to the world that despite the distance, quality education is still at reach. Just like the cliché that heaven is at the tip of the fingertips, so is quality education for HNHS.