MANILA, July 5 — The Constitution mandates the state to protect and promote every citizen’s right to quality education, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones said Wednesday.
She said this is something that she has personally fought for as an activist, years ago when a large chunk of the national budget was allocated to the military.
During the “1 with the 99: Tax Reform Forum”, held at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City, Briones cited the “cost drivers” or the factors why DepEd needs a big budget.
First, she said, is the sheer size of the country’s student population — 27 million learners enrolled at the start of Academic Year 2017-2018, which is estimated to balloon to 28 million by 2022.
The second is the government’s commitment to upgrade the quality of education.
“The Constitution says quality education for all,” Briones said, noting that upgrading means reaching the ideal classroom-to-student and teacher-to-student ratios; and providing adequate facilities, such as water and sanitation, Internet access, computer classrooms at the elementary level, laboratories and libraries for all public schools.
”Not all of our public schools have libraries,” Briones lamented.
The third cost driver, which is why the required inputs for DepEd are higher, is the K-12 basic education program where kindergarten is compulsory, along with two additional years for senior high school, which is free in public schools, she said.
The education chief further cited climate change and natural disasters as the fourth cost driver, since the country is frequently visited by calamities that have intensified in strength through the years, raising the costs for rehabilitation and repair to damaged infrastructure and equipment.
”Education always suffers, whether the disaster is natural or political,” she said. “The standard now for storms is ‘Lawin’ and school buildings must be able to withstand 350 kph winds. The standard now for earthquakes is no longer Bohol but Surigao. In addition to building new classrooms, we have to rehabilitate, rebuild and re-fit all our laboratories each time there is a disaster.”
The fifth cost driver would be the Marawi siege that has exacted a horrendous toll on resources particularly, public education, she said, pointing out that as of June 30, 16,472 Marawi children have fled to different regions of the country.
She estimated that PHP800 million would be needed to rebuild at least 15 schools in Marawi that were bombed, burned and looted, while rebuilding all the 132 schools in the city would cost PHP2.3 billion.
Out-of-school youths are another concern, Briones said, adding that the government is determined to reach out to them.
“In spite of all our efforts, there are still those who fall under the cracks and somehow don’t make it to a formal education system due to poverty, distance, early marriages and other reasons,” she said.
Because of this, the Duterte administration is expanding the Alternative Learning System (ALS) program for those who are not in the formal education system and this needs additional funding.
Overall, Briones expressed optimism with the current budget allocations.
”It is a challenge to DepEd to catch up with changes in technology, society, culture and the way we perceive ourselves and the rest of the world,” she said.
The “1 with the 99: Tax Reform Forum” was held to heighten public awareness of the Duterte administration’s proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN) that aims to benefit 99 percent of Filipino taxpayers and help sustain the government’s accelerated spending on infrastructure, education, health and social protection programs. (AAA/PNA)
