IN THE House plenary deliberations for the Department of Education (DepEd) budget for 2023, it was made known that the department is considering flexible learning options in addressing perennial shortages in classrooms, facilities and learning materials. The education department is also consulting with ocal government units and other stakeholders that can help address these shortages.
Frankly, we cannot simply accept another band-aid solution to address these shortages. Shifting classes, large class sizes, makeshift classrooms, and divided classrooms do not address the root of the problems; they also hurt the quality of education our youths receive.
The first step in addressing the problem is having a blueprint on how DepEd plans to solve these shortages for the long term. Does the department have a concrete plan?
It’s having no demonstrable plan to resolve these long-standing problems simply shows it is not ready for the students’ and teachers’ safe return to school.
In the end, it is the teachers – who are already exhausted with their teaching load and additional tasks – who have to adjust and look for ways to still be able to deliver education to their students despite the lack of support and preparedness by the education agency.
The proposed P150-million confidential funds of the DepEd could go a long way. It can provide 150,000 armchairs, three million textbooks, or 4,286 laptops for teachers.
We call on the DepEd to provide a concrete blueprint on how it plans to address classroom shortages, lack of facilities and learning materials in schools. While we agree with the Education Secretary that learning should not be bound to the four walls of the classroom, this should not be used as an excuse to not address these shortages and accept the situation of our education system as a norm.
