DULAG NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

DNHS THROUGH THE YEARS

 

         For how many years, Dulag National High School has become an institution and a part of every Dulagnon’s family and tradition. It educated almost half of Dulag’s population since its founding on June 7, 1947 and influenced the collective spirit of Dulagnon – brave, jubilant and family-oriented!

 

         As an alumna, I would say that wherever I had been, the Dulag National High School (DNHS) had a big power over my decisions, my attitude as a person and my perspective towards life, struggle and success. High school is the chapter of our lives where we develop our sense of responsibility to our society, to our friends, to our classmates and of course to our family. The words of our teachers become a powerful tool that sharpens both our intellectual and emotional intelligence, which helped us shape who we are today.

 

         Our four years in our beloved Alma Mater was a complex combination of different emotions; of joy and sorrow, of laughter and tears, notwithstanding the feeling of puppy love and heartaches. Whatever it was, it contributed to our success today, in whatever field of profession we had chosen and the philosophy in life that we have lived on.

 

Enduring Spirit

 

         Just like us, our great Alma Mater had survived the different onslaught of tribulations we had similarly experienced in life, not literally, of course! It had surpassed several typhoons, like the first typhoon named “typhoon Amy” that wreaked havoc to the first building on 1949, that housed the students of the school. But look at it now, its open grounds can’t accommodate anymore all of its students during its daily flag ceremony exercises, for it is occupied with a significant number of buildings just to have room for the ever-increasing school population that increases from 272 pioneering students in 1947 to 3,441 students now, amplified fourteen fold since its founding year.

 

         Typhoon “Amy” not only destroyed the first building that housed the DNHS students and toppled down the new building being constructed on the same year, the destruction brought by the catastrophe also resulted to the lay-off of 5 teachers and the closure of 6 classes on the following year (1951). Aside from those shattering events, another calamity hit the DNHS in that same year, when the Guanzon Site, an eight hectare land where the first DNHS school buildings were erected was lost due to contest of ownership.

 

         However, the series of unfortunate events brought the DNHS to its present ground through the effort of incumbent mayor of that time, Mayor Vicente Yutangco. The DNHS graciously survived that episode and it was able to recover from the financial crisis that it encountered in 1954-1955, when the Provincial Board of Leyte turn-over the management of the school to Dulag Municipal Council. It resorted to an increase of tuition fee in 1956 until 1966. But, with the passage of Republict Act no. 3478 on 1968, the Municipal Council was mandated to appropriate a P100.00 to the provincial and municipal high schools, thus, aiding the financial burden faced by the school. Until such time that a “free secondary education” was implemented in June 16, 1988, increasing the number of students to 1,983 from 277 in its beginning year.

 

         Even the disastrous fire that devastated the DNHS in October 6, 1970, did not dampen its enduring spirit, but resulted to better buildings and better accommodations.

 

Competitive Nature

 

         My high school years were a very competitive one. It resulted to nightmares after I graduated high school. But on the other side, my stressful but enjoyable high school life, helped me to become a “better person” for I decided in my college years to focus more on societal issues than to be a prisoner of the academe and this paved the way to my vocation of helping the less fortunate souls which I had spent almost twenty years of my life to doing community work, helping in empowering the interior barrios in the region.

 

         The competitive nature of DNHS, same to my own experience, has a positive impact to the whole community, though sometimes tiring and stressful for it aimed to strengthen one’s resolve as a person and help developed the entire community, in general.

Through the years, DNHS did not only establish a physical stability, but it was able to go along with the trend and development in the academe. It was tagged as the “Division Leader School” in the 90’s and continued to serve as the pilot school in “Revitalized Home guidance Program” Which started in the management of the former DNHS principal, Mrs. Tarcela K. Cabello. It became the leader among the schools in Eastern part of Leyte Division when the “computer era” started and became a member of the nationwide project for innovative teaching strategies.

 

         Furthermore, it was able to have an international exposure, when it was selected in the Applied Project for Academic excellence (APEX) among six (6) schools in the Leyte Division. According to a source, “APEX is designed to upgrade the teaching-learning capabilities in Science and Mathematics for holistic career and was extended to the Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE).

 

         At present, the DNHS faculty through the leadership of Mrs. Lourdita A. Riños, the current principal of the school, is sending its teachers to conferences and seminars to continue enhancing the capability of its teaching force and raise the level of quality education of the students. The school in its present is superb! Tall buildings are present, two to fourth floors buildings high enough to sustain the need for thousands of students to be comfortable in their each room.

 

The Power of the Alumni

 

         The byproduct of the schools achievements can be easily seen and described by the students it produces for the entire 71 years of its existence. Naming them one by one and reciting their triumphs can cover the whole souvenir program, so, I would rather say that, each one of us, the alumnus of our beloved Alma Mater, is the expression of its success as an institution worthy of praise and recognition. If united in heart and soul, we can move mountains and influence any political leader in our town or in a wider scale, and not the other way around.

 

         We endure, we survive, and we triumph! Hurray to DNHS!