DepEd needs more than P1 trillion next year to comply with UN standard

THE PHILIPPINES’ Department of Education (DepEd) needs more than a trillion pesos ($17.9 billion) next year to pay for teachers’ salaries, benefits and supplies, according to a congresswoman.

This would allow the country to adhere to a United Nations (UN) standard for education to account for at least 6% of economic output, Party-list Rep. France L. Castro told a news briefing on Monday.

“Following this standard, [the sector] would need a budget of at least P1.14 trillion to fill in the 6% gross domestic product requirement,” she added.

The Education department’s budget for 2023 was P710.6 billion, or 3.% of economic output, the lawmaker said.

The government of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. had failed to enforce its 10-point agenda for “education recovery,” including the safe reopening of classes after a coronavirus pandemic, Ruby Bernardo, president of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers NCR-Union (National Capital Region-Union) told the same briefing.

“We did not see any decent preparation or support from the government,” she said, noting that some public school teachers had to handle a class of 100 students.

The group said the government had failed to provide enough teaching and learning resources, an evidence-based education recovery program and in restoring history and Filipino classes in high school and college.

In Congress, measures seeking a salary increase for teachers have not made progress, Alliance Chairman Vladimer Quetua told the briefing. “We have not heard from the Department of Budget and Management, from the president and from the Education secretary.”

He said there was no significant hiring of nonteaching personnel, forcing teachers to also take up librarian, security guard and guidance counselor duties.

Mr. Marcos Jr. had also vetoed a bill granting tax cuts to teachers who served as watchers during the 2022 elections, Mr. Quetua said.

The Education department’s attempt to profile ACT members is a form of “union busting,” ACT Secretary-General Raymond Basilio told the briefing, adding that they plan to file a complaint before the International Labour Organization

The memo ordered the submission of a list of teachers affiliated with the teachers’ union who were availing themselves of the agency’s automatic payroll deduction system. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz