Private schools hope for support under Bayanihan 2

by Edu Punay (The Philippine Star), 18 Sep 2020

MANILA, Philippines — With the recent signing of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, the private education sector is hopeful that it will finally receive the much-needed economic assistance from the government.

Joseph Noel Estrada, managing director of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), said many private schools are reeling from the impact of the pandemic.

Estrada said there are millions of students who did not enroll or decided to transfer to public schools this year.

“Many are hoping that the enrollment would still increase,” Estrada said in Filipino during an interview with One News / TV5’s “The Chiefs” on Wednesday.

“Private schools are trying to reduce costs, with some having to resort to extreme measures such as laying off employees,” he added.

Data from the Department of Education (DepEd) showed that only 2.1 million enrolled in private elementary and high schools nationwide, representing 48.79 percent of the student population last year.

Almost 500,000 private school students also transferred to public schools this year.

The low enrollment, Estrada said, means that there are many facilities and teachers in the private sector that could have helped the government in providing education to the Filipino youth.

Estrada urged the government to provide support to the private education sector, such as funding innovative strategies to continue the learning process under the current situation.

As of this week, data showed that 865 private elementary and high school schools decided not to reopen, primarily due to low enrollment and other impacts of the pandemic.

The closure has affected over 4,400 teachers and 58,000 students, mostly in the elementary level.

But according to Estrada, the impact goes beyond these figures as almost all of the 300,000 private school teachers nationwide were affected by the pandemic.

“Most of them received reduced pay since March. Many of them are on a ‘no work, no pay’ scheme because of the non-operation of schools, non-payment of fees and the shortening of the academic year last year. We’re talking about 300,000 in the private schools,” he said.

The Federation of Associations of Private Schools Administrators also sought clarification on whether private school employees are covered by the financial assistance for teachers provided under the Bayanihan 2 law.

An initial survey that the group conducted showed that at least 119,000 private school teachers displaced by the pandemic are requiring financial assistance.

Earlier reports said that P300 million were allocated as subsidy to teaching and non-teaching personnel, as well as for part-time faculty members in state universities and colleges.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers said the budget is not enough, noting that a one-time assistance of P5,000 to P8,000 would only cover 37,500 to 60,000 teachers.

CHED budget increase sought

Lawmakers are seeking to increase the proposed budget of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for next year, which suffered significant cuts on scholarships and financial assistance programs.

During a hearing by the House appropriations committee on Wednesday, Reps. Sarah Elago of Kabataan party-list, Paul Daza of Northern Samar and Mark Go of Baguio City said the proposed P50.9-billion budget of CHED under the 2021 National Expenditure Program is not sufficient for the needs of students.

Elago and Daza cited the lack of allocation for medical scholarships under the CHED’s budget.

“This is unacceptable, especially in a time of pandemic, that’s why we call for Congress to restore the budget cuts,” Elago said.

CHED chairman Prospero de Vera III said there has always been no appropriation for medical scholarships under the agency’s budget and that they only depend on realignment by Congress.