Gatchalian: LGUs vital to delivery of quality education

MANILA, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) must be given an important role in delivering and raising the quality of education in the country, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

Amid the nationwide celebration of Local Government Month, Gatchalian is pushing for Senate Bill (SB) 155, a proposed measure meant to strengthen the involvement of LGUs in improving the delivery and quality of basic education.

“We have done a lot to address issues in the education sector, but we have not yet given our communities the space to fully participate in the education of our youth,” he said.

“Through this bill, we will be able to give our LGUs an important role in delivering and raising the quality of education,” he added.

Gatchalian refiled SB 155, or the proposed 21st Century School Boards Act, which seeks to expand the local school board to involve other education stakeholders and relevant actors in the community.

The bill is one of the priority measures of the chairman of the Senate committee on basic education for the 19th Congress.

The measure is pushing for extensive functions for the local school board to include the formulation of policies focusing on the quality of education.

It also broadens the utilization of the Special Education Fund (SEF) to support the local school board’s expanded role.

The SEF is sourced from the additional one percent tax on real property, which is allotted by the Local Government Code (Republic Act No. 7160) to the local school boards for the operation and maintenance of public schools and construction and repair of school buildings, according to Gatchalian.

Under the proposed measure, the success of reforms and programs introduced by the local school board will be measured using indicators such as the participation rate of students, number of dropouts and out-of-school youth and achievement scores measured by national tests or assessment tools.

Gatchalian noted that the LGU could also lead in the establishment of child development centers, providing support for special needs education, the Alternative Learning System (ALS) and the parent effectiveness service program.

Additional responsibilities to be assigned to the local school board include the introduction of timely, organized and localized interventions in the delivery of basic education in times of calamities, disasters and other emergencies that disrupt school activities.

The local school board will also coordinate the implementation of the ALS program with the Department of Education on the city or municipal level.

The measure likewise proposes to allow the use of the SEF for salaries of SEF-paid teachers and non-teaching personnel assigned to public elementary and secondary schools, salaries of preschool teachers and capital outlay for pre-schools, operation and maintenance of ALS programs, teachers and non-teaching personnel’s honorarium and allowances for additional services rendered outside of regular school hours, among others.