P91 billion in education shortage awaits Aquino government – ACT

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – The administration of President-elect Benigno Aquino III will inherit from the Arroyo government shortage of teachers, classrooms, and other critical education resources worth P91.54 billion, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said here yesterday.

“After nine years in office, the Arroyo government has utterly failed to eliminate shortages of teachers, classrooms, textbooks, sanitation facilities, and other critical resources in our public schools,” said ACT national chairperson Antonio Tinio said. Tinio urged the incoming Aquino government “to pass a supplemental budget that will substantially address the P 91.54 billion in shortages.”

“Otherwise, we won’t be able to break out of this education crisis,” he warned.

Tinio noted that for school year 2010-2011, there will be a shortage of 54,060 teachers, 4,538 principals, and 6,473 head teachers; 61,343 classrooms, 816,291 seats, and 113,051 water and sanitation facilities. The Department of Education (DepEd) will also need an additional P400 million to address the textbook shortage.

“All in all, the DepEd needs an additional P91.54 billion over and above its current budget to address all of these resource gaps,” he said.

Tinio blamed this situation on “budgetary policy prioritizing debt servicing and reducing real spending on education” under the Arroyo administration.

“It’s true that the Arroyo government has been hiring 10,000 teachers and constructing 3,000 or so classrooms annually. But these efforts are not enough compared to the sheer size of our enrolment. As a result, public school education in the Arroyo years is characterized by oversized classes with 60 or more students, contributing to a further decline in the quality of education,” he also said.

ACT is appealing to the incoming administration “to take on the challenge of eliminating the shortages once and for all.”      –Ding Cervantes (The Philippine Star)