EVERY year priority is given to our education sector when it comes to the crafting of the national budget. There can be no argument as to the need to spend on education. It is a fundamental human right and the return on investments made here are significant and far-reaching.
As in previous years, the 2024 General Appropriations Act is no different when it comes to education spending. Close to P980 billion is allocated for the education sector in 2024 from P895 billion in 2023. Under the 2024 National Expenditure Program or the original budget proposal submitted by the President to Congress, a total of P924.7 million was earmarked for education.
There was unanimity among the members of the Senate’s Committee on Finance when it came to providing increases for education spending. The release of the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the continued dismal showing of our students here only reinforced the importance of investing more in education.
In the 2022 PISA, it was revealed that Filipino students were five to six years behind in learning competencies. The Philippines scored 120 points less than the average scores for math, reading and science. The performance of the Philippines remained low and was about the same as 2018 when it first took part in the PISA.
We have some of the strongest advocates for education in the Senate— Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the chairman of the committee on basic education; Senator Francis Escudero, the chairman of the committee on higher, technical and vocational education; Senator Pia Cayetano, who as senior vice chairperson of the finance committee handled many of the education budgets; our Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, whose tenure at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority earned him the moniker “Tesdaman”; and yours truly are all members of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) that has been digging deep into our country’s education system to introduce immediate solutions and long-term reforms to address the weaknesses, including the learning crisis that we are experiencing.
Education has always been close to my heart. My father, the late former Senate President Edgardo Angara, spearheaded the first EDCOM way back in 1991, which came out with a report entitled Making Education Work, An Agenda for Reform that paved the way for the implementation of critical reforms in the country’s education sector.
Among the highlights of the EDCOM report was the “trifocalization” of the education system, with the Department of Education having oversight over basic education; the Commission on Higher Education for higher education; and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
With EDCOM 2, we are reevaluating our education system, including our performance in the PISA. We need strong investments in education now and in the coming years if we want to produce concrete and meaningful results.
Under the 2024 GAA, increases were introduced in the budget for education to support the ongoing efforts to make educational opportunities more available and accessible to our people. These went to programs such as the government assistance and subsidies to implement the senior high school voucher program; scholarships in state universities and colleges; the Tulong Dunong Program of the Commission on Higher Education; Tulong Trabaho Fund; training for work scholarship program; and the Special Training for Employment Program.
For the Department of Education, we increased funding for the Human Resource Development Program for school and learning center personnel; teacher and school leader training for the new MATATAG Curriculum; the teaching overload pay; special hardship allowances for teachers; P5,000 cash allowance for teachers or what is commonly known as the “Chalk Allowance”; child protection program; learner support program, particularly for mental health; and the school-based feeding programs.
These are just some of the programs under the 2024 GAA in support of our education sector. We in Congress, together with EDCOM 2, will continue to work hand-in-hand with our education stakeholders to bring about the necessary reforms and budgetary support to bring our education system up to par with global standards and improve the capabilities of our learners.
If we are to achieve the economic growth that we aspire for and the availability of better opportunities for our people, then we must start with the basics, and that is strengthening the foundation that is education.
***
Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 19 years—9 years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and 10 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.
***
Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara/PN
