Posted at 06/06/2011 1:40 PM | Updated as of 06/06/2011 1:40 PM
MANILA, Philippines - A teachers' group on Monday said the Philippine education system is still not ready for the implementation of the K+12 program, which seeks to add 2 more years to the basic 10-year education cycle of students.
Speaking to ANC, Teachers' Dignity Coalition chairman Benjo Basas urged President Aquino to prioritize the education sector amid continuing shortages in classrooms, teachers and even poor sanitary facilities in public schools. He noted that the biggest challenge is how to accommodate the rising number of students in the country.
"The biggest challenge is the 2.5% increase in public school enrollees. Talagang hindi kayang i-accommodate. We have a big population, a growing population and we can't meet the need. The Department of Education is determined to implement K+12 starting with universal kindergarten but on the issue of preparedness, it's not DepEd but the whole system that is not ready," he told ANC's "Headstart."
Basas said the government should hire at least 30,000 teachers to handle an estimated 1.93 million kindergarten pupils this year. He noted that contractual kindergarten teachers are only paid P3,000 a month per shift by the Department of Education (DepEd).
"There should be a priority in the budget. If we need 30,000 teachers, we should open 30,000 teaching items," he said.
For his part, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said Malacañang allotted P21 billion for its Conditional Cash Transfer program while basic services such as education and health remain grossly underfunded.
He challenged President Aquino and Education Secretary Luistro to pay a visit to schools like Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City, where some Grade 6 classes are held in makeshift classrooms in what should be the school quadrangle, and regular classrooms are partitioned in half to accommodate two classes with 60 to 70 students per class.
“They should also visit Batasan Hills National High School, with class sizes averaging at around 90 students, and where some students have to sit on the floor because of the lack of chairs. I challenge them to look these children in the eye and tell them that this is the best that their administration can give them,” he said in a statement.
Luistro said the DepEd cannot hire more teachers without an enabling law. He said the department usually hires contractual teachers to fill in the shortage for educators.
He also noted that the DepEd received a P1 billion commitment from governors and mayors to build classrooms for their constituents.
"Even with the shortage, I'm very hopeful kaya solusyunan in the next year or two," he said.
Speaking to ANC, Teachers' Dignity Coalition chairman Benjo Basas urged President Aquino to prioritize the education sector amid continuing shortages in classrooms, teachers and even poor sanitary facilities in public schools. He noted that the biggest challenge is how to accommodate the rising number of students in the country.
"The biggest challenge is the 2.5% increase in public school enrollees. Talagang hindi kayang i-accommodate. We have a big population, a growing population and we can't meet the need. The Department of Education is determined to implement K+12 starting with universal kindergarten but on the issue of preparedness, it's not DepEd but the whole system that is not ready," he told ANC's "Headstart."
Basas said the government should hire at least 30,000 teachers to handle an estimated 1.93 million kindergarten pupils this year. He noted that contractual kindergarten teachers are only paid P3,000 a month per shift by the Department of Education (DepEd).
"There should be a priority in the budget. If we need 30,000 teachers, we should open 30,000 teaching items," he said.
For his part, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said Malacañang allotted P21 billion for its Conditional Cash Transfer program while basic services such as education and health remain grossly underfunded.
He challenged President Aquino and Education Secretary Luistro to pay a visit to schools like Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City, where some Grade 6 classes are held in makeshift classrooms in what should be the school quadrangle, and regular classrooms are partitioned in half to accommodate two classes with 60 to 70 students per class.
“They should also visit Batasan Hills National High School, with class sizes averaging at around 90 students, and where some students have to sit on the floor because of the lack of chairs. I challenge them to look these children in the eye and tell them that this is the best that their administration can give them,” he said in a statement.
Luistro said the DepEd cannot hire more teachers without an enabling law. He said the department usually hires contractual teachers to fill in the shortage for educators.
He also noted that the DepEd received a P1 billion commitment from governors and mayors to build classrooms for their constituents.
"Even with the shortage, I'm very hopeful kaya solusyunan in the next year or two," he said.
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