CABARROGUIS, Quirino - The Department of Education (DepEd) here has reported that the nutritional status of malnourished school children in the province improved after 120 feeding days. Schools Division Superintendent Benjamin D. Paragas said there were 1,106 malnourished children in 18 schools in the province and based on the consolidated report, 1,105 of them were rehabilitated. “These pupils also posted 99.25 percent attendance in school,” he added.

The 18 schools include Palacian Elementary School and Villa Pagaduan ES in Aglipay; Eden, Del Pilar, General Luna, Gomez, Loacan, Zamora ES, and Dibibi Integrated School in Cabarroguis; San Antonio IS in Diffun 1; Cajel, Ricarte Norte, and Dumanisi ES in Diffun II; San Pedro and San Bernabe ES in Maddela 1; Santo Nino in Maddela II; Anak ES in Nagtipunan; and Dibul ES in Saguday.

Paragas said Quirino was among the 15 divisions chosen to benefit from the DepEd program to increase participation rate among students while addressing the incidence of drop-outs and malnutrition during the school year 2011-2012 based on the prevalence of undernutrition and the capability of the school heads to manage and administer the program.

The other beneficiaries are schools from the divisions of Zambales, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Sorsogon, Kabankalan City, Bacolod City, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Davao Oriental, Sultan Kudarat, Surigao del Norte, Kalinga, Maguindanao, and Quezon City.

The feeding program was participated in by the parents of students who acted menu planner, cook and server of the food. Meanwhile, Luzviminda H. Tubiera, nurse-in-charge of the feeding program said, to ensure the children’s wellness, they were also dewormed and provided with essential health care program that include regular handwashing and oral hygiene. (TCB-PIA 2)