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Use pork barrel for education, business leaders urge lawmakers


Senior Philippine business and education leaders have urged lawmakers in the 15th Congress to use their pork barrel funds to supplement the country’s meager education budget, saying most students are unfit for higher levels due to lack of support for schools. Representatives from the Philippine Business for Education (PBed), Education Nation, and Foundation for Worldwide People Power also threw their support behind the proposed 12-year basic education program of President-elect Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III but advised him not to lose sight of the reforms needed at the tertiary level. The three organizations, which are actively campaigning for education reform in the country, outlined their suggestions in a news conference Wednesday at the PBED office. Businessman and PBed Chairman Ramon del Rosario said the proposed 12 years of basic education “is part of the long-term solution to improve Philippine education and to prepare students for a life of work." Del Rosario presented dismal figures on the current state of Philippine education: only two out of every 100 high school graduates are fit to enter college or university level, while only 1 percent of the total number of high school students and only 15 percent of the total number of elementary students achieve mastery based on the National Achievement Test results. PBed trustee Jose Cuisia Jr. said the Priority Development Assistance Fund, commonly known as pork barrel, of previous congresses should have prioritized the education sector. “Maybe they should say that PDAF should go to education this time," he urged incoming lawmakers. Each senator has as much as 200 million pesos while a member of the House of Representatives is allotted 70 million every year in the PDAF, which allows a lawmaker to categorically name priority projects for government funding, according to official records. “Forgotten child" The education budget for 2010 is estimated to be 161.4 billion pesos, or 12.37 percent of the national budget. The PBed also estimated that on an annual basis, the Philippines spends US$150 per student while Thailand allocates US$890 and Malaysia US$1,500 per student. Former Education Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz, who is now with the National Institute of Policy Studies, said an additional P20 billion is needed to finance the proposed two additional years of education every year. Edilberto C. de Jesus, president of the Asian Institute of Management, told the news conference that basic education is the “correct focus" of the incoming Aquino administration, but he emphasized that the secondary and tertiary education should not be neglected. A former education secretary, De Jesus called the secondary level of education the “weakest link" of the three levels. He added that sometimes, it is called “the forgotten child." Ayala Foundation’s Guillermo Luz said math and science should be given extra emphasis in the primary and secondary education levels to enable students to develop their critical skills. “Without math and science expertise, weak students in the vocational and technical courses do not survive," he said. Letter to Aquino In a letter dated June 1, 2010 addressed to President-elect Aquino, the business and education leaders said his appointees to the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and TESDA “must be willing and able to work together as originally envisioned after the management of education was first trifocalized because education reforms must be system-wide." They also expressed the hope that “education will become a key lever for poverty alleviation and good governance" in their letter. Bro. Armin Luistro, president of De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila, has accepted Aquino's offer to take on the post of Education Secretary under his administration. “Quality education, broadly and freely accessible, is indeed the best weapon against poverty, because it forges a nation where citizens are imbued with purpose and vision," said Maria Lim Ayuyao of the Foundation for Worldwide People Power. Espousing the cause of underpaid teachers, Ayuyao said a “modest but clear gesture of solidarity from President Noynoy such as firm measures to streamline the delivery of Government Service Insurance System benefits would surely go a long way in boosting our teachers’ morale." Among the members of the three groups that are campaigning for education reform are the Asian Institute of Management, Ayala Foundation, Catholic Education Association of the Philippines, Education Network Philippines, League of Corporate Foundations, Metrobank Foundation, National Institute for Policy Studies, Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities, National Institute for Science and Math Education Development, and PHINMA Education Network. – YA, GMANews.TV

Tags: education
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