MANILA, Philippines – A World Bank (WB) study on the Philippines showed that the entire public education system had not progressed at all, and has in fact “regressed” from what should have been an ideal situation, Malacañang disclosed yesterday.
“A WB study showed that our education system is regressive. We don’t have the exact study itself, but we have the results of the study where it was found that it is a regressive scheme, that their (students) number fizzles out,” said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, even as he denied persistent claims by student activists, mostly from government-run tertiary institutions, that the government made severe cuts on next year’s budget of state universities and colleges (SUCs).
Lacierda reiterated that the SUCs’ budget for 2011 had been increased by 11.4 percent, from P21 billion this year to P23.4 billion next year, or P2.373 billion higher. What the students are referring to is the P2.8-billion “unreleased” congressional insertions in this year’s budget, which was the subject of a “conditional veto” of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Lacierda also pointed out that under the previous administration, the Arroyo government allotted only 15.6 percent of its total national budget, compared to Aquino’s 16.5 percent, to education, which is equivalent to P271.6 billion, P23.4 billion of which belongs to SUCs.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad clarified that this was not a reduction, noting that while the 2010 budget allocates P23.845 billion for SUCs, the P1 billion for maintenance expenditures and P1.8 billion for capital outlay were congressional initiatives.
“These (congressional initiatives) were subjected by the former president to a conditional veto that cannot be released unless new revenue measures are enacted by Congress. These were also not included in the 2011 budget, together with other non-recurring expenditures,” Abad explained.
Lacierda, in presenting the bigger picture for the education sector, said the Aquino administration has only adopted a “shift” in prioritization by giving emphasis on basic education, where a solid foundation for students is most needed.
“The fact remains that even if you retain the budget for SUCs, only 14 people graduate from college. We need to emphasize where it is most needed. The problem is that we don’t have enough funds,” he said.
“Based on the study conducted by the WB, the basic education and high school education require emphasis. Let’s compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges,” he said, as he took a swipe at those who sow “disinformation” with the general public.
Statistics show that out of 100 high school students, only 14 of them tend to reach and graduate from college, and most of them come from affluent families, and not from the impoverished sectors of society.
“Apparently, some quarters have been sowing disinformation. This is a non-issue. There’s nothing to hit back at the President. We have been very open, very transparent in our statements, in our records,” he added.
Palace to UP: Where’s your P11-B?
Malacañang has challenged the leadership of the state-run University of the Philippines to disclose where the P11 billion that was never returned to the national treasury went, insisting that state universities and colleges have sufficient funds.
Lacierda, who took his pre-law at the De La Salle University and earned his law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, also suggested that instead of all these rallies, university officials should do the explaining to their students.
“I think for purposes of better communication and dialogue, it will be good for the university officials to explain. The SUCs have money. They’re not neglected. It is more important to give stress to basic education,” he said.
Lacierda added that the Palace is not stopping them from using the funds.
Out of the total P19-billion fund for SUCs, a huge chunk of it, P11 billion, goes to UP. “If you look at UP, it has an P11-billion income. They can use that. Nothing is stopping them. The policy of this government is to allow SUCs to use their income. This can be used as extending or developing the university,” Lacierda added.
“You’ve got sufficient funds in your respective universities. The thrust of the Department of Education is to give emphasis on basic education. The policy of DepEd is progressive and equitable. Emphasis should be to those who need the services of the basic education.” –Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star)
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