DUE TO lack of funds to meet the 1:1 module set-to-student ratio, the module-sharing scheme is being forced upon learners. This is unacceptable.
For one, this is more a matter of government mis-prioritization than actual scarcity of resources. Congress better increase the Department of Education’s (DepEd) budget for module printing as it will cater to majority of learners. If the government had funds for the ridiculous dolomite sand in Manila Bay, it can definitely fund DepEd’s modular learning program — the most basic and doable of the Learning Continuity Program (LCP).
After two postponements of classes, the national government still has not addressed the most basic needs of its LCP amid the pandemic. It appears that it is being left to the teachers to adjust through the module-sharing scheme. The government couldn’t care less for education? This is completely unacceptable, and is a violation of the leaners’ constitutional mandate to guarantee accessible quality education.
DepEd’s ideal estimated cost of module printing for a year is P74.6 billion while their conservative computation comes to P50.4 billion, but the agency has so far only received a stingy P15 billion provision in the 2021 National Expenditure Program, according to Finance undersecretary Anne Sevilla. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers estimates, however, that P51.5 billion will be needed to provide one set of modules per week for 34 weeks to 71 percent of the 22,215,134 enrolled public school learners. The target recipient of the modules was based on the agency’s learning modality preference survey during the enrollment.
That’s just P3,264 per student for the entire school year. Surely, the Duterte administration can invest as much and more to the education of our youth, the only question is will they?
Will the President be willing to forego several questionable provisions in the 2021 proposed budget and realign these to its largest social service agency? Huge chunks of the people’s money can be gathered from planned budgets for war, counterinsurgency, and even “Build, Build, Build” and can be better used to serve the interests and rights of the Filipino people, especially amid this crisis.
Yes, Congress must substantially increase the meager budget proposal for module production and other vital needs for safe, accessible, and quality education amid and beyond the pandemic.
