Monday, May 12, 2008 LGUs urged to help improve education
LOCAL governments can also share in improving education in the country.
Although the Department of Education (DepEd) gets the biggest share in the national budget, Secretary Jesli Lapus said there remains a deficiency because the bulk of the budget goes to salaries of personnel alone.
To augment deficiencies in the provision of classrooms, textbooks and school buildings, Lapus urged local governments to borrow from banks and finance the needs of public schools in their locality. His suggestion to borrow from banks is apart from the funds allotted by every local government unit (LGU) for special education funds.
Special education funds represent one percent of real property taxes.
Banks are open on Sunday to lending money to LGUs, especially when this will be used for education purposes.
For overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) where most spend many years abroad to send their children to school, Lapus also asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to issue sovereign bonds.
Lapus said OFWs could also avail of education loans from independent lending institutions and the DFA can stand as guarantor by issuing treasury bonds.
"Make education an investment," Lapus said, adding for 2007 the DepEd has addressed the problem on the classrooms.
With a ratio of one classroom to 50 students, at double shift last year, this will be trimmed down to 48 students per classroom for the incoming school year.
This, as Lapus said 12,215 classrooms were built augment last year's 15,217.
The education department has also addressed the lack of teachers and principals. Since 2002, 3,903 principals were hired for this year.
"The DepEd hopes to decrease the number of public schools without principal items," he said.
Almost 17,000 teachers were also hired this year, the biggest number hired since 2002, Lapus added. (RO)
