ANALYSIS

GMA’s ‘Education for All’: An Empty Rhetoric?

In her various policy pronouncements, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has repeatedly promoted her “education for all” program.  A look at the proposed budget for 2005 drafted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), however, shows that this program is nothing but an empty rhetoric.

BY RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) has promised a lot to develop the country’s educational system, but the government’s subsidy to education can hardly be called an improvement compared to the previous years.

For 2005, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) proposed to give the Department of Education (DepEd) P111.04 billion ($1.99 billion, based on an exchange rate of P55.72 per US dollar). This accounts for 11.68 percent of P951-billion ($17.07 billion) national budget for 2005.

The education budget is a pittance, however, if one were to analyze Macapagal-Arroyo’s promises on education.

Scholar for every poor family

In the past, Macapagal-Arroyo repeatedly vowed to adopt one scholar from every poor family. 

According to the Wallace Report, a study by the business community released last June, there are 1.7 million children aged 7 to 12 who are not in school because of poverty.  To send them to school even for just one year, the government needs P13.6 billion to P17 billion ($244.08 million to $305.10 million). The computation is based on estimates by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) that one year of schooling amounts to P8,000 to P10,000 ($143.58 to $179.47).   

Macapagal-Arroyo said that based on the records of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), there are about seven million poor PhilHealth cardholders.  Based on ACT’s estimates, sending seven million poor children to school will cost P56 billion to P70 billion ($1 billion to $1.26 billion). This already accounts for more than half of the proposed education budget.

Her Student Assistance Fund for Education for a Strong Republic (Safe 4 SR) aims to provide easy-to-pay loans for third-year and fourth-year college students. This, the President said, would enable students to graduate.

The Wallace Report revealed that the drop-out rate in college is 73 percent. In the proposed budget for 2005, the government will allot P92.8 million ($1.66 million) for 58,085 students in tertiary and vocational levels.  Based on data from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the beneficiaries comprise only 1.82 percent of the total college population of 3.2 million.

SUC budget

Meanwhile, the proposed budget for state universities and colleges (SUCs) is only P16.85 billion ($302.40 million). In 2003, the budget alloted for SUCs was P17.07 billion ($306.35 million).

Ironically, the state’s premier university will suffer the biggest reduction. The University of the Philippines System’s budget will be cut by almost P67 million ($1.20 million).  From this year’s P4.52 billion ($81.12 million), UP may only get P4.45 billion ($79.86 million) next year.

The subsidy of 30 more SUCs will decrease. The Mindanao State University (MSU) may get P14.74 million ($264,536.97) less than its current budget. Around P8.44 million ($151,471.64) could be slashed from Romblon State College’s subsidy. 

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), which has 11 branches, may have to do with P545.34 million ($9.79 million) next year, a decrease by around P2.6 million ($46,661.88) compared to this year.

Part of cost-cutting measures is scheme to merge state colleges. This year, the government subsidizes 111 SUCs. The subsidy will be reduced to only 85 SUCs under the proposed budget for 2005. 

In Nueva Vizcaya, for instance, two state colleges will receive no subsidy. This is because the two colleges – the Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology and Nueva Viscaya State Polytechnic College - will merge to become the Nueva Vizcaya State University. 

Addressing classroom shortage

The Macapagal-Arroyo administration is set to allot P3.2 billion ($57.43 million) for the construction of 8,000 classrooms (based on official estimates that P1 billion or $17.95 million can construct 2,500 classrooms). This will reportedly reduce the classroom shortage by 20.31 percent. It may be recalled that DepEd records show a shortage of 39,383 classrooms this school year. 

Reducing the shortage in classrooms will not automatically reduce the class size to the ideal 25, however. Today, the actual class size in public schools is 60 to 110. This pales in comparison to Thailand (18), Malaysia (19), China (24), Taiwan (14), and Indonesia (22).

Facilities

Macapagal-Arroyo also pledged to improve school facilities and provide computers to all schools.

The DepEd said 20 percent of classrooms have no proper ventilation, 27 percent have no lighting, 55 percent do not have electricity and 25 percent have no ceilings. It also added that in 2002, 22 percent of elementary and secondary schools did not have science laboratories.   

However, the DBM proposed to allot only P2.42 billion ($43.43 million) for DepEd’s capital outlay.

Teachers

The Macapagal-Arroyo administration plans to allocate P1.11 billion ($19.92 million) for 10,000 additional teaching and related positions.  This will reportedly reduce the shortage of teachers by 30 percent.

However, based on the current figures, the budget could only address 20.32 percent of the shortage of teachers given that the DepEd said it lacks 49,212 teachers for the current school year.

The proposed 2005 budget is silent on any increase in the teachers’ salary.

A teacher’s salary is only P9,939 ($178.37) a month, a little higher than the minimum wage in Metro Manila. Again, this is not enough for the basic needs of the teachers and their families. In Metro Manila, the daily family living wage – the amount needed to fulfill the needs of a family of six - in February 2004 was pegged at P594 daily ($10.66) or P17,820 monthly ($319.81).

Because of low pay, teachers are forced to borrow money. The average loan of every teacher is P50,109 ($899.30), according to reports. The combined loans of teachers to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) have already reached P15 billion ($269.20 million).

Real priorities

Meanwhile, debt servicing will eat up P301.69 billion ($5.41 billion) or 31.72 percent of the national budget. The amount is 272 percent higher than the education budget.

Moreover, the proposed allocation for Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of National Defense (DND) is higher than this year’s.  The combined allotment for the two departments may amount to P90 billion ($1.61 billion) next year, much higher than the proposed budget for SUCs.

Indeed, the youth can see through the deception of Macapagal-Arroyo’s rhetoric. Based on the proposed education budget, the promise of “education for all” is nothing but an empty rhetoric. Bulatlat

Back to top

We want to know what you think of this article.