Youth group opposes 12-year education cycle

THE youth arm of the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) hit the government for pushing the 12-year basic education cycle while urging President Benigno Aquino III to channel more funds to improve the delivery of education services.

Updates on President Benigno Aquino III's presidency

“This is not the solution to the country’s current woes in basic education. We believe that instead of adding more years, the government should find ways to improve the condition of our congested schools, the lack of teachers and principals, among others,” said Joanna Bernice Coronacion, APL youth national chairperson.

Luistro said they are looking at adding a Grade 7 in the elementary level and fifth year in the secondary level to put the Philippines at par with the global average of 12 years of basic education and make Filipino graduates globally-competitive.

Coronacion also scored the planned expansion of Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE), which allows public elementary graduates to finish high school in private institutions.

“The Gastpe program is just a band-aid solution. The government should rather divert some funds allotted to debt servicing to social services like education,” she said.

“Such policies could even worsen the problem by turning public services into expensive commodities, and thereby out of reach of the poor,” Coronacion added.

Under the program, Metro Manila scholars are entitled to a tuition subsidy of P10,000 and P5,000 for those in other areas.

Latest DepEd data tallied 720,000 beneficiaries as the department mulled a P6 billion-budget for next year to reach the target of one million beneficiaries.

The Aquino government is mulling to submit the proposed P1.645 trillion-budget for 2011 before August 25.

The administration however did not elaborate on the corresponding budget allotments except that it will be spending more on social services, including education next year. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)