SAP for teachers snagged

For all intents and purposes, the opening of classes for school year 2020 to 2021 won’t definitely take place nationwide this August 24 as earlier set by Education Secretary Leonor Briones. Under a soon-to-become law, a new date for the opening of classes will be fixed once President Rodrigo Duterte is convinced it would be safe to send our children back to school even while the 2019 coronavirus disease (C19) pandemic still persist. It amends existing law that allows “flexibility” to reset the mandated school opening instead of first Monday of June or not later than first Monday of August of each year.

In his latest public address to the Filipino people aired Friday, President Duterte reiterated there would be no face-to-face classes in all Philippine schools from kindergarten to college not until the anti-C19 vaccine is developed. “So my dear countrymen, we must really wait for the vaccine. As I’ve told you before, “no vaccine, no classes,” the President stressed.

Of course, the declared policy declaration of President Duterte is fully supported by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Both DepEd and CHED are members of the expanded Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID). Upon the 14-day regular review by the IATF of risks assessment of C19 contagion, the President recalibrates community quarantine guidelines around the country.

The enrolled bill to reset school opening – sent to Malacañang for the President’s signature – did not go through the bicameral conference committee since the Lower House adopted the Senate version. So both chambers were able to ratify it before the 18th Congress ended their second regular sessions last Thursday.

The principal authors and sponsors of this Congress-approved measure are Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, chairpersons of the Senate and House committees on basic education and arts, respectively. The two lawmakers joined us during our virtual Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum via Webinar last Wednesday along with DepEd Undersecretary Jesus Mateo; CHED executive director Filipina Jaro; and Benjo Basas, president of Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC).

Previously, the President cited China might be able to produce the anti-C19 vaccine by September, if not later this year. This time, the President noted the US pharmaceutical company Moderna may be the first to come up with their anti-C19 vaccine reportedly in the final stage of testing. “And they say mid-summer, it might be available already. But they can only produce 200 million (doses) and that is only good for America,” he pointed out.

While the fate of anti-C19 vaccine remains uncertain, President Duterte conceded our country’s educational system may have to suffer a lot more sacrifices.

The DepEd Secretary had earlier reported to the President and the IATF on the “blended learning” which is a combination of online (internet-based like Webinar); home-based schooling; and, distance-learning. It was apparent though the President is not fully convinced if this so-called “blended learning” could even reach all the Filipino student population, especially those in the far-flung areas of the country. This is not to mention the income disparity and the digital divide across the country in the access to modern information communications technology as well as the much complained internet speed in the Philippines.

“But Secretary Briones is insisting that there should be an alternative there and she has a very good program for that, like teleconferencing,” the President cited. “How good the technology, I do not know if we are ready for that. Meaning to say, if we have enough of those to use for the whole of the Philippines,” the Chief Executive pointed out.

President Duterte has valid grounds to doubt whether the DepEd would be able to implement this “blended learning” given the enormity of resources required to put them in place come school opening probably later this year. After all, the 75-year-old President saw the public education system evolved through the years from the personal experience of his late mother as a public elementary school teacher.

Having served also for several terms in office as the Mayor of Davao City, the President is fully aware how they at the local government units (LGUs) – through local school boards – scrounge for funds to augment the inadequate financing and resources coming from the DepEd for the learning materials distributed unequally to public elementary and secondary schools in their respective areas.

The former Davao City Mayor wondered aloud: “We are talking of students. It’s millions. Does she (Briones) have it? But if she has, or if we can afford it, we’ll buy it and she can proceed with her novel idea of how the children can continue with their education.”

Speaking for the CHED, Jaro pointed to the need to create more public “hotspots” to enable more students to access resources that they can use for their education. “Increasing connectivity would entail expenses because there is information and communications technology infrastructure and daily (data usage) costs,” she pointed out.

For DepEd, Mateo disclosed they are meeting with the representatives of the two giant telecommunications companies (telcos) Globe and Smart and get them to assist DepEd in enabling teachers with mobile and data subscriptions under a single account.

Jaro also reiterated the CHED request to the 18th Congress on behalf of some 50,000 private school teachers and part-time faculty employed in a “no teach, no pay” setup to be also covered by “Bayanihan Heal As One” law. For almost three months, they too, were not able to receive their salaries because of the C19 pandemic class suspensions.

In response, Gatchalian announced the Senate version of the bill extending the Bayanihan Law would include teachers in the emergency cash subsidy under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP). This, however, got snagged in Congress after the President did not certify it as an “urgent” bill.

Is this another sign of presidential doubt on SAP falling into COVID-19 – pronounced as “kupit natin” (Our steal)?