Gov refuses P1.2 billion funding for modules

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday disclosed that she refused to shell out funds for the Department of Education’s printing of modules, believing the modular setup will not be effective for pupils and students.

“Kaning mga module-module, we did not set aside funding for that because we could not really make sure that it will really achieve the level of education that we would wish our children to have. And the standard of education has grossly been lowered with this module thing,” she told reporters in a press conference yesterday.

She said DepEd had asked for about P1.2 billion funding for the printing of modules for 10 months to be used by Cebu’s more than 600,000 students. The estimated cost per module was P280.

“I'd rather spend P1.2 billion on interventions that will, first of all, ensure better education for our children. Second, improving their environment sa mga eskwelahan. Third, improving the teaching materials that we can be assured of, sigurado ta, mao na kining mga libro puhon,” Garcia said.

She announced that the Capitol will soon provide notebooks and school supplies for all the students in the province under the K to12 program.

Aside from the difficulties of learning through the use of modules, Garcia also raised the concern on internet connectivity in the province.

Based on the survey conducted in the entire province, only 20 percent of the total student population were internet-ready.

Face-to-Face

In fact, Garcia has expressed support to the position of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Cebu Chapter on resuming face-to-face classes in the province.

“LMP has come up with the position, I support the position. I hope the DepEd (Department of Education) will begin to listen to the growing clamor for the return of face-to-face classes,” she said.

Garcia said she thinks that it is about time to resume physical classes, citing student interaction with their peers and teachers as crucial to their development.

“Maybe, we do not need to do it in an immediate, expanded manner, but little by little. Slowly, hinay-hinay. Well, definitely, that has to be the goal. We should go back to face-to-face,” she said.

LMP Cebu earlier filed a resolution that supported the limited face-to-face classes proposed by the DepEd Cebu Province provided that there is a clear policy, a more concrete execution plan and specific guidelines in order to ensure the health and safety of students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders during its implementation.

Meanwhile, DepEd-7 is awaiting the approval of the central office, as well as the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF), for its request to resume face-to-face classes in hinterland schools and island-schools in the region. — JMD (FREEMAN)