“Malinaw po: Ang buong budget gaya sa imprastraktura ay binubuo gamit ang masusing pag-aaral ng mga suliranin at ng kaakibat nitong wastong solusyon (It’s clear that the entire budget is based on a serious study of problems and solutions to them),” said President Benigno Aquino III in Malacanang when he signed the Php 3.0002 trillion national budget for 2016.
In 2010, the national budget had doubled and it had given the largest sectoral allocation to social services. According to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, this “clearly shows how the government is wisely investing on its people.”
The 2016 budget had increased funding for different government agencies and the top three sectors that have received the highest allocations are the Department of Education (DepEd) with Php 411.905 billion, Department of Public Works and Highways with Php 384.287 B, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government with Php 124.229 B.
The value of learning
Despite receiving the largest increase in funding, there are still a lot of room for improvement in the education sector. “Increasing the budget doesn’t mean we’ll be closer to the utopia of having a better educational system,” remarks Edcel Artificio, a teacher fellow at Kamuning Elementary School under Teach for the Philippines, a non-profit organization aimed at providing quality education in public schools.
The K-12 program has reportedly improved the basic education coverage in the Philippines, even amidst the growing opposition against it.
The expansion of the DepEd’s budget had been poured into the full implementation of the Kindergarten Law, which made formal schooling at 5 years old mandatory, free, and under the responsibility of DepEd. In 2011, among this age group, 16.6% of students were not in school. In 2013, this number had been halved to 8.5%.
Through offering more years of free education, specifically at the kindergarten level, this had produced an equalizing effect on access to education since it had allowed more students from lower income brackets to enroll. According to Rappler, 92.2% of 5-year-olds from the poorest families had been able to attend kindergarten. Regardless of the educational attainment of the head of the household – a factor of why a child is less likely to be in school – nearly all children in the Kindergarten age are now going to school.
As for high school-aged students (from 12 to 15 years old), there have been modest gains in enrollment. The out-of-school rate had also decreased, from 8.4% in 2011 to 6.9% in 2013. Older children, especially in poor families, contribute to household income by working, making attending school deemed an economic sacrifice.
To provide incentives for adolescents to go to school, the 4Ps program implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development extends assistance to children from 14 to 18 years old or upon high school graduation, in order to reduce the stress of economic hardship.
Other programs under DepEd aim to cater to the education of out-of-school youth through the alternative learning system. “Over-aged pupils will have a chance to receive formal education and to take the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT),” Artificio states. However, Artificio notes that “we have to be realistic” as not all adolescents utilize this program because of poor living conditions.
In transition
Artificio attributes the budget increase to the costs of the K-12 transition program, specifically for the training of teachers in order to align their skills with the new curriculum.
“Maybe DepEd should also consider reforms on teachers’ salary, reducing their workload, and to implement capacity-building among if they want to achieve direct impact to the poorest Filipinos,” he notes.
In 2014, the minimum salary for teachers was Php 18,549. However, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara is determined to raise that amount to Php 33,859 if his Senate Bill No. 16 will be passed. According to Angara, the “unattractive salary levels” for teachers in the country have discouraged the best graduates from top colleges and universities to pursue careers in education. He also identifies the low salary rates to be disincentives for teachers to improve their skills and provide quality education for their students.
The Salary Standardization Law of 2015, which provides a Php 2,205 increase in the next four years for salaries of public school teachers nationwide, was met with discontent by teachers and organizations. In a statement from Interaksyon, Jocelyn Martinez, a teacher from Malabon, said the increase only amounts to Php 24 in additional money per day for an ordinary public school teachers. “Nakakagalit, napakasakit sa loob, matagal namin itong hinintay (It makes us angry, it hurts. We’ve been waiting for so long),” she laments.
On the other hand, Benjo Basas of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, expressed to The Standard that “more than a one-time incentive [they] need compensation that would commensurate to [their] role as educators.” He emphasizes that they have been pushing for a 10,000-peso across-the-board increase and hopes that things will become better for teachers and state workers under a new government.
Educating a workforce
Moreover, Php 10 B was allotted to support technical-vocational and tertiary education scholarships. “We recognize that a modernizing economy requires a quality workforce,” said Aquino in his message on the National Budget.
One component of this allocation, the Technical Educational and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), has been touted as one of the most successful programs of the Aquino administration. The agency was allocated Php 6.393 B in 2016, a 20% increase from Php 5.3 B in 2015.
Founded in 1994, TESDA is the product of the initiative of Sen. Francisco Tatad, who authored Republic Act No. 7796 and pushed it through Congress. Today, TESDA is attached to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and is responsible with vocational training for adults after high school.
From January to October 2015, the Technical-Vocation Education and Training (TVET) sector of the agency received a total of 1,645,418 enrollees. Of these, 1,502,656 graduated within the period.
The effects of the investment in TESDA are apparent in the Information Technology-Business Processing Management sector, where President Aquino cited the agency’s cooperation with the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines through the Training for Work Program (TWSP) as a cause of industry’s continued flourishing.
In an address given at the 7th International IT-BPM Summit 2015, Aquino said that as of August 2015, government funding for TWSP for the IT-BPM sector has reached Php 1.61 billion, and has benefited more than 200,000 Filipinos.
Former TESDA Director-General Joel Villanueva has expressed support in further expanding the programs of TESDA. In particular, the TWSP program was also allocated more funds this year, totalling Php 2.03 B this year compared to last year’s Php 2 B.
“The additional scholars are possible because of the higher proposed budget for TWSP for 2016,” Villanueva said.
Through this, Villanueva hopes to increase the number of skilled workers in the workforce and supply labor to developing industries in the Philippines.
