Planned increase in ‘chalk allowance’ not enough, solons say

The P300 increase in “chalk allowance" proposed by the Department of Education is not enough to help teachers do their work, Two party-list lawmakers said Friday. ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said that each public school teacher needs at least P2,000 in “chalk allowance," but government plans to give them only half the amount next year. “The national government must put an end to our public school teachers’ long-standing burden of [buying] teaching supplies out of their own pockets," he said in a statement Friday. Thousands of public school teachers decided not to use chalks while holding classes on Friday in protest the inadequate financial assistance from government, prompting the sectoral representative to issue the statement.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Tinio said he will continue to push for a higher “chalk allowance" with the House of Representatives’ consideration of the proposed P1.816-trillion budget for 2012 drawing to a close. Each teacher currently gets P700 a year in “chalk allowance," an item that is labeled as “Cash Allowance for Teachers" under the national budget. The money is supposed to cover the purchase of blackboard chalk and other instructional materials for classes. Earlier this month, the DepEd proposed a P300-increase in public school teachers’ cash allowance, which means realigning P150 million in the department’s 2012 budget. Last May, Tinio filed House Bill 4134 which seeks to legislate a mandatory yearly allowance of P2,000 for public school teachers. A higher “chalk allowance" is important to ensure that Filipino students in public schools get proper instructions from their teachers, said Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino, a co-author of the measure. “How can our teachers properly hone our students to become intelligent and responsible members of our society if something as basic as a chalk fund is not sufficiently provided by the government?" he said in a separate statement. “Kawawa na nga ang ating mga guro dahil sa kakarampot na sahod, sila pa ngayon ang inaashan na punan ang kakulangan sa chalk at iba pang pangangailangan sa pagtuturo," he added. — VS, GMA News