Cebu's TV Skwela

Every last Sunday of the month, exactly 3:30 in the afternoon, if one only switches the channel to RPN 9, the viewer will be greeted with a serendipitous sight. An unplugged show where kids from ages 3 to 21 years old host, cast and present their own MTVs, report news, present dances, dramas, mimes and other performances.

Owned by Dorothy “Dotie” Paras-Aznar, the director of the only performing arts school in the whole Visayas and Mindanao. She runs the school together with her husband, Celso Guillermo Aznar, who has been trained in cinematography in the University of Columbia.

For Dotie, TV Eskwela is just a medium of expression for the students where they get to present and apply the things that they’ve learned. 

TV Eskwela first began in Sorsogon but when Dotie got married, she had to relocate to Cebu together with the school. Just opened this March and what they offer is not just a casual workshop but a formal education in four levels. With Courses in dance, drama, diction, TV hosting, singing lessons, TV production, directing, etc. They also offer workshops for summer. 

The kids at TV Eskwela are very polite, especially on camera. Right now, Dotie has 40m pupils who enjoy their singing and dancing lessons immensely. 

The school also accepts mentally challenged or slow kids because of Dotie’s principle that all types of children must be welcomed and developed regardless of their inherent capacities.