TO STOP the practice of teachers using their own money to buy teaching supplies, Ilocos Norte 2nd District Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba filed a measure establishing a Teaching Supplies Fund for public schools.

In pushing for House Bill 7834 or the proposed Teaching Supplies Fund Act, Barba said public school teachers have oftentimes shouldered the costs of teaching supplies.

“A classroom without the necessary resources to support students and teachers does not have the right to be called a classroom,” Barba said in his explanatory note.

The lawmaker stressed that the purchase and provision of basic teaching supplies and instructional materials is the responsibility of the Department of Education but was passed on to teachers.

House Bill 7834 mandates the establishment of Teaching Supplies Fund to ensure the continued funding and provision of teaching supplies and instructional materials for each school year.

Under the bill, P3,000 per month will be allocated per classroom in all public schools.

The amount will be used to purchase chalks, erasers, pens, and for the production or reproduction of handouts and study guides and other classroom supplies and instructional materials.