Bigger budget for education, teachers say

TO mark World Teachers Day tomorrow, two teachers groups outlined a 10-point demand letter to government to increase the country’s education budget to resolve shortages in classrooms, teachers, textbooks and facilities.

In a press conference, Prof. Phoebe Sanchez of the Cebu Educators Forum said the P207-billion budget set for the Department of Education (DepEd) is insufficient to meet the requirements of public schools.

Sanchez said the DepEd budget doesn’t meet the standards set by the United Nations, which require the allocation of 6 percent of the country’s national budget for education.  She said it’s not enough to cover the summer kindergarten program in public schools.

“The country is only ahead of Laos in terms of budget for education,” said Antonia Lim of the Alliance for Concerned Teachers (ACT).

The two groups called on the regularization of all contractual and volunteer teachers in the country.

Sanchez said only 19,000 out of 43,000 public teachers in Central Visayas enjoy regular status.

She said the region needs 104,000 permanent teachers for the K to 12 education program.

The group also called for a P2,000 increase in chalk allowance and a P7,000 increase in clothing allowance from the P4,000 they receive annually.

The ACT will lead a nationwide coordinated campaign to mark World Teachers Day including a Teachers Parade that starts from Cebu Normal University to Fuente Osmeña from 3 p.m to 5 p.m.

Sanchez said public school teachers from Cebu and students from UP Cebu, the University of Cebu and the University of the Visayas (UV) will join the observance along with the Cebu Educator’s Forum. Correspondent Rhea Ruth V. Rosell