MANY SCHOOLS LACK CHAIRS — ACT
THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers slammed the Department of Education’s denial of a news report on the lack of chairs at the Jose Abad Santos High School in Manila.
THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers slammed the Department of Education’s denial of a news report on the lack of chairs at the Jose Abad Santos High School in Manila.
ACT said that the school head had to borrow school chairs from other schools.
To ease overcrowding, the school also reportedly limited the number of face-to-face classes to once instead of twice a week.
“Hindi kailangan na maging defensive ang ating mga guro at local education officials sa usapin ng mga kakulangan sa sistema ng edukasyon dahil ito ang malaganap na katotohanan. Responsibilidad ng pamahalaan na pondohan ang mga pangangailangan ng edukasyon at responsibilidad naman ng DepEd Central Office ang pagtitiyak na mabibili ang mga ito, gaya ng mga upuan, na nakapailalim sa pondo para sa basic education facilities,” Vladimer Quetua, the group’s chairperson, said.
Quetua said that the case of the Jose Abad Santos High School is not an isolated one as it received numerous reports from other schools that lacked arm chairs and desks.
ACT Bantay Balik-Paaralan Hotline recorded such problems in La Union, Bataan, Tarlac, Camarines Norte, Iloilo, Panay, Cebu City and Davao City.
In Sillon Integrated School in Bantayan Cebu, for example, classrooms have 30 to 40 chairs but there are 50 learners in some classes.
Quetua called on Congress to probe the issue.
“In the spirit of accountability, the Department of Education should report how many armchairs and desks it has procured in recent years to prepare for the resumption of face-to-face classes. In 2021, the DepEd was given a budget of P1.833 billion for school desks, furnitures and fixtures, while P1.115 billion was allocated for 2022. Also, does the 2023 National Expenditures Plan contain enough allocations to fill up the shortages?” Quetua asked.
“The armchair is a very basic need of every learner. Hindi matututo ang mga bata kung nakasalampak sa sahig o hindi komportable sa kanilang mga upuan. Kung hindi pa ito maibigay ng sapat at maayos, paano na lang ang iba pang mga pangangailangan?” he added.
