P40-M for building more classrooms OK’d

President Arroyo has approved the release of P40 million to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the construction of new classrooms in public schools all over the country.

She made the announcement in her address before 5,000 schoolteachers in Jamiatu Muslim Mindanao quadrangle in Marawi City on the fifth leg of her weeklong trip to Mindanao.

"The P40 million will be used for the construction of new classrooms. In this way, we can address on a one-time basis the severe lack of classrooms that has been the problem through these years," Mrs. Arroyo said.

The President, accompanied by Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus, explained her administration policy to address the perennial lack of classrooms and teachers in public elementary and high schools.

She promised that additional classrooms would be built this school year for public elementary schools where there are more than 100 students per classroom and in public high schools which have more than 200 students per class.

De Jesus earlier said 19,529,792 elementary and high school students all over the country are expected to go to class this Monday.

Of this total, 17,254,647 students would go to public schools, while only 2,213,145 students would go to private institutions.

"In our country, (there are) 34 students to one teacher. That’s not bad. Therefore, our problem is not the total number of teachers but the distribution of teachers," the President said.

She explained that "there are many barangays all over the country where teachers refused to be assigned largely because they are war-torn barangays. Distance learning will address this problem as well."

Mrs. Arroyo recently approved the "Eskwela ng Bayan" distance-learning program to be established in 2,000 insurgency-affected barangays where "para-teachers" would be deployed to conduct non-formal education.

Para-teachers will be recruited from among the ranks of "retired teachers, teachers-soldiers, college level members of the community and socio-civic organization members. They will be trained to shepherd the students through different modules," according to the President.

"In addition, we will mainstream distance learning in the school system. My objective is to have one complete satellite system for this school year," she said.

The President gave the green light for Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus to implement the Eskwela ng Bayan (ENB) program under her "Strong Republic School" Distance Learning Program.

The President announced that the ENB would be implemented starting this school year.

"This distance learning module, which I call (the) ‘Strong Republic School,’ will provide basic courses in English, Math and Science. It will be mainstreamed into the formal education system because students who take it will be promoted to the next level as long as they pass qualifying exams," she said.

The ENB, according to the executive order drafted by Corpus and signed into law by the President, will be funded by the P1.2 billion Children’s Survival Fund from the United States Aid for International Development.

Mrs. Arroyo said the ENB program would partially address the lack of classrooms and teachers in public elementary and high schools in the country.

"(ENB) is education by TV in barangays where there are still no schools. Chapels, barangay halls, multi-purpose centers or even shades of mango trees can be the venue," she said.

The President added that the government would also use the Philippine Information Agency communication system and government television stations to air "educational shows (at) the appropriate time so that parents and children at the same time learn how to read and write."