A Baseline Survey of the Ilongbukid National High School and its Serviced Areas

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to assess the present needs and problems of the barangays serviced by the Ilongbukid National high School located at Barangay Ilongbukid, San Rafael, Iloilo. This study made use of quantitative gathering techniques involving 264 household respondents using a researcher-made interview schedule and complemented with in-depth interview and focus-group discussion (FGD). The quantitative data were computer-processed using SPSS PC+ Version 11. The respondents were generally males, Roman Catholics, in their middle ages, elementary of high school educated, farming dependent and earning a relatively low level of income per month. They have a typical household size of 5 to 6 members with a mean household size of 5.47 and have relatively younger household members. The respondents’ households have on the average 1.7 working members. The mean income of the respondents of Php2,272.16 accounts only to 50.9% of the mean total household income of Php4,463.75. Not all children of school age are presently able to go to school. Organizational participation of household members is relatively low. Although the barangays are rural farming barangays, yet only a little over half of the households are into farming. Their farms are generally rice-based and relatively small size. The least accessible service to the respondents and their households is nearness to a functional church. The houses of the respondents are generally made of temporary to semi-permanent materials. They have a relatively safe source of drinking water, using electricity as source of light but firewood or charcoal is still their main fuel use for cooking. The most common appliances owned by the respondents included transistor radio, television and stereo. Generally, the respondents disposed their garbage by burning and have water sealed toilets. The common illnesses experienced by the respondents’ households included colds, cough, fever and diarrhea. The respondents have identified major problems and needs confronting their households, the Ilongbukid National High School, their barangays in general, and the men, women, youth and children in their barangays.