Saturday, June 07, 2008
Pay teachers, City to DepEd
AFTER taking the initiative 13 years ago and maintaining the program, the Cebu City Government has threatened to stop paying for the wages of night high school teachers if, within the next three years, the Department of Education (DepEd) will not give them positions.
Originally a City Government project, the night high school has over 400 teachers catering to an estimated 20,000 students.
Since the start, it is the City that shelled out for the salaries of the teachers, as the DepEd has not given them “items” or slots in the department’s roster.
Joy Augustus Young, City Hall’s education consultant, said they have been badgering the DepEd to employ the teachers for quite some time, but it is only this week that he and Mayor Tomas Osmeña finally decided they have had enough.
“Dugay na ning hangyo sa City. This week, gi-andaran na nako kay wala man gihapon. Nasuko na si mayor. (The City has been requesting this for a long time. This week, I had enough because there has been no result. This has irked the mayor.) DepEd asked for reconsideration, and I told them to write the mayor a letter, and at the same time make a request with Dr. (Carolino) Mor-deno (DepEd 7 director),” he said.
Young recalled that last year, the DepEd allocated 30 items for Cebu City. “Kita hinoon nga nigasto, naningkamot, gamay ray gihatag. Ang LGUs nga walay initiative daghan. (Here we spend a lot, work hard, and yet we end up getting just a little. Local government units that show no initiative get a lot instead.) It is as if we are being punished for doing a lot, for showing our concern,” he added.
Young said that of the 50,000 city public high school students, 20,000 attend the night high school; the rest are enrolled in the day curriculum.
“That is 20,000 students who were able to go to school because of the City Government’s initiative. Pero sakto na pud siguro…. It is too much already,” he said.
Young said the City spends P35 million a year for the teachers.
He said Dr. Lorna Rances, Cebu City schools superintendent, promised to make the request, which will be endorsed to Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.
He said the P35 million could be used to buy more computers, fund repairs, and build classrooms instead.
The City spends P30 to P40 million for repairs and already disbursed around P200 million in constructing school buildings.
Young said that aside from teachers’ salary, the City also spends for electricity and water, which total P20 million a year.
In particular, he cited the need for additional classrooms, saying that according to a survey he made with the school principals two weeks ago, Cebu City needs 450 classrooms more.
“That is just as of today. This could go up once classes open, depending on the enrolment,” he said. (RHM)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 7, 2008 issue)
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