Tell it to SunStar: Teachers seek higher education budget
ABOUT 300 public school teacher-members of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) trooped to Congress recently, as the Committee on Appropriations deliberated on the proposed 2019 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd), to press for salary increase and higher education budget.
It seems the Duterte government is condemning teachers to death. It has done nothing to address the alarming rate of deaths among teachers recently. Instead of granting our call for salary increase and higher education budget, it wants to cut further the education budget that would worsen the economic hardships and overwork that we suffer.
The Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) proposed budget for education dropped from P704.13 billion in 2018 to P659.26 billion in 2019, which is equivalent to a 6.37 percent decrease. DepEd alone will suffer P51.848 billion or 8.93 percent budget cut.
Large portions of these cuts will be taken from allocations for hiring new teachers and staff, promotion, provision of benefits, building and repair of facilities, and for instructional materials.
As before, teachers will surely carry the burden of these cuts. Low salaries, lack of benefits including medical treatment, multi-tasking and overloading due to lean school resources, partnered with the oppressive results-based evaluation are a fatal mix that deteriorates the status of our teachers.
Last week, teacher Shannen Espino from Bacoor, Cavite was the latest to commit suicide. In July, teacher Emylou Malate was also reported to have taken her own life. All of the cases are either connected to unbearable workload or grave economic problems.
Those who are living, this government subject to slow death. How then are we to cope with the worsening economic crisis of the country—what with the 5.7 percent inflation rate recorded last July? The cuts will mean another year at the least without the promised salary increase.
Additionally, DepEd’s proposal for an additional 5,487 items for education support personnel was not reflected in the DBM proposal as the latter only provided budget for 455 items.
DBM’s total disregard of DepEd’s proposal is a clear manifestation of its lack of interest to alleviate the “overworked, underpaid” working conditions of teachers and other education workers. This is state abandonment, plain and simple.
Our government seems to treat these matters as a game, as powerful people in position compete for higher budget while services to the people are left to make do with so little.
(We demonstrated our criticism of the proposed 2019 budget through a 30th SEA games logo-inspired coins which symbolizes the “barya-barya” allotment for education, as well as to bring to light the powers at play in the on-going budget deliberation.)
We call on the government to heed the teachers’ demands and increase the budget allocation for the whole education sector and provide substantial increase to teachers’ and education workers’ salaries.--Benjamin Valbuena, chairperson, Alliance of Concerned Teachers