DepEd wants more funds for teachers’ chalk

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Education has requested the budget department and Congress to realign funds within the proposed 2012 education budget to raise teachers’ annual chalk allowance from P700 to P1,000 in 2012 amid clamor for the subsidy raise.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro this week wrote a letter to the Department of Budget and Management and the legislature to allow some wiggle room in the P237-billion proposed DepEd budget to heed teachers’ calls for higher subsidy for teaching materials, the DepEd Communications Unit confirmed Friday.

Luistro requested the fund redirection to provide teachers a P300 raise in their current allowance, used to purchase chalk and other materials necessary for daily classes.

The realignment request amounts to some P150 million, according to ACT Teachers party-list.

The teachers’ welfare group has been calling on the DepEd to increase the allowance from P700 to P2,000, or from P3.50 to P9.85 per school day, saying teachers often had to shell out their own money despite low pay to buy school supplies.

Teachers use an average of five chalks per day, ACT earlier said; one chalk costs roughly P1.

To call attention to their cause, ACT’s members on Friday held a chalk holiday” and held lessons without using chalk.

While he welcomed DepEd’s move, ACT Teachers party-list Representative Antonio Tinio said the proposed increase was “not enough.”

“We welcome DepEd’s proposal but the increase is not enough,” Tinio said in a statement.