Higher pay: Private teachers need it most; tuition-free college benefits the poor least

I read Inquirer’s Feb. 9 editorial titled  “Teachers’ woes.”

In general, I agree with the points raised. But I thought that Congress had always voted (at least, the 8th, 9th and 10th Congresses where I belonged) to increase public school teacher’s pay. For pogi points, I must admit.

It is the private schools’ teachers whose salaries need augmentation. But private schools cannot afford the salary government gives (P19,500 as basic pay per month). That’s why most of private school teachers apply to teach in public schools after two or three years of experience in private schools. We should not begrudge them for wanting higher pay from government; but this highlights the problem that private schools face.

Unless the owners have sufficient capital, starting a private school and continuing to fund the necessary cash flows to put up the buildings—assuming they have the land—is a tough proposition. But for love of giving education to our youth, they venture to fill in the need in some areas. How?

By borrowing to augment the start-up capital. Now they have to worry about amortization plus interest, on top of how to keep their quality edge when their experienced teachers move to public schools. And it takes a painstakingly long time to build up a viable student population. No wonder, the taipans would rather buy long established universities and colleges than start one from the ground up.

There is another threat to private schools, which keeps being resuscitated by populist politicians and bureaucrats, and that is free tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCS). This, plus the erosion of the quality edge of private schools, may cause a number of them to fold up. Who will then fill up the void that will be created?

Government? It could not even put up the required rooms and facilities when it launched the K-to-12. Not for lack of funds, but for the inability of the bureaucracy to respond on time.

The latest word is,  the Cabinet has set aside the free tuition policy in SUCS. The Commission on Higher Education is right. Only a small percentage of the college students belong to the bottom 20 percent of income level of our population. And this is borne out by just looking at the UP parking lot in Diliman. It is just as crowded as the Ateneo parking lot in Loyola Heights.

Why not, instead, target those really deserving of financial aid and give vouchers to students that they may use to enroll  in either public or private public schools. The Department of Social Welfare and Development would be helpful in determining income-level demographics of the students.

FELICITO C. PAYUMO, former congressman, 1st District of Bataan, former chair, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Bases Conversion Development Authority, chair, University of Nueva Caceres, fcpayumo@gmail.com