As we observe the National Teachers’ Month from Sept. 5 to Oct. 5, Congress is poised to make a P116-billion cut in the 2019 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd).
This means that only 4,000 classrooms will be built, and not the needed 47,000 classroms.
This is demoralizing for teachers who are not only concerned with salaries and other financial perks, but also with the physical environment that is conducive to effective teaching or transfer of learning to their young charges.
Teachers know that crowded classrooms are anathema to quality education.
We call on the legislators to think twice before they cut DepEd’s budget. The Philippine Constitution mandates that “[t]he State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education…. (Article XIV, Section 5).”
Lawmakers must also consider that the youth are the greatest resource for national development so they must be provided an environment conducive to learning.
EUSEBIO S. SAN DIEGO,
Founder, Kaguro,
essandiego@ymail.com