Send Teachers, Not Soldiers

The Caset Elementary School of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur has only two classrooms and one teacher. Mrs. Lolita Tatson has been teaching here for 20 years now. During her first year, there were three of them. Now, she alone teaches grades I, III and IV. She used to handle grades I-IV but this year there were only two enrollees for grade II so she decided to send them to the nearby Maradudon Elementary School.

BY KIM NGABIT-QUITASOL 
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat.com

Mrs Tatson’s students are not only deprived of teachers and classrooms but of facilities as well. Desks are not enough, nor are books and other learning materials. In fact Mrs. Tatson revealed that for most of her subjects she was given only one textbook and the teacher’s manual.

Thus, there is only one book for the entire class.

The Maradudon Elementary School, according to Mrs. Tatson does not fare any better. The said school has three teachers teaching six grade levels. It is also sorely lacking in materials and facilities. One of the local residents recalled that during her time there were three more teachers and that the facilities were relatively better.

Books not bullets

While the “Books not bullets!” may sound like a cliché or slogan of activists who usually march along the main streets of the city, it is a valid issue which the government does not seem to take seriously.

As specified in the reenacted national budget for 2004, the Department of Education (DepEd) was allotted P106 billion as compared to the P545 billion allotted for debt payments. The said budget is also P4 billion short of the budget proposed by DepEd. The P4 billion slashed from DepEd’s budget proposal could have been used to build 2,500 classrooms, to open 10,000 new teacher items and 1,666 new principal items, to provide maintenance and other operation expenses and others.

The education budget is simply not enough. According to DepEd’s briefing materials for the 2003 budget hearings, the department is short of 39,383 classrooms, 4, 125,413 desks, 9.88 million books and 49, 212 teachers. With the annual increase in enrollments, these numbers are projected to rise drastically come 2005.

The current dismal conditions of public schools are expected to worsen. But the government remains adamant in its refusal to legislate a higher education budget. In fact, there have been mere minimal increases in the real budget of DepEd since 1997. Thus, the shortages in teachers, classrooms and facilities, books and learning materials, are already reaching crisis proportions.

Teachers not soldiers

On the other hand, the government is quick to provide the AFP and PNP with the needed budget for additional personnel, guns, bullets, other armaments and equipment necessary for its modernization plan. While the children especially in remote barangays are in want of teachers, there is no shortage of military personnel roaming the rural areas. 

In fact, the government was quick to send military men, particularly the Re-engineered Special Operations Team (RSOT), to Caset because there were rumors that the said barangay is “infiltrated” by the New People’s Army, its supporters and sympathizers.

The budget of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for 2003 allotted additional billions of pesos for the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). According to a study conducted by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the additions to the budget included allocations amounting to P3 B for AFP salary increases; P2.1 B for PNP salary increases; P1.4 B for the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU); P1.2 B for new policemen, jail guards and firemen; P1.1 B for retired military personnel’s pension benefits; P800 M for additional 7, 000 soldiers and P96.3 M for the Balikatan exercises.

True enough, the salary of uniformed men increased, the Balikatan exercises pushed through, and nationwide CAFGU recruitment is currently going on. On the other hand, teachers and other government employees have been demanding for a P 3000 across the board salary increase.  They have not had any adjustments in pay since 2001. But until today the Arroyo administration remains deaf to their legitimate demands. Posted by Bulatlat.com

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