Pinoys urged to donate P10 daily to address classroom shortage

By CANDICE MONTENEGRO, GMA News

Published October 14, 2011 4:30pm

By donating P10 daily, or roughly P300 a month, Filipinos can help address the shortage of classrooms in the country, a multisectoral group said on Friday. Through the 'TEN Moves' project that aims to build 10,000 classrooms in the next two years, Filipinos can donate P10 each day or a total of P3,000 in 10 months. The project, spearheaded by the private group "57-75 Movement," aims to help address the Department of Education (DepEd)'s shortage of classrooms which stands at 45,000 classrooms for the upcoming school year 2012-2013. During the launching of the TEN Moves project on Friday, Mario Deriquito, one of the conveners of the "57-75 Movement," said TEN Moves makes it easier for Filipinos to help out. "Any amount will actually do. People don't have to literally give P10 if they cannot afford it," Deriquito said. "This just makes it easier for people to do something. If we have two million people who are willing to donate P10 a day, or about P300 a month, that will already help so many Filipino students nationwide," he added. The Department of Education (DepEd) estimates that the construction of a multi-storey classroom building costs around P800,000. The amount needed for 10,000 classrooms can be funded by two million donors who will each contribute at least P3,000 for the program. Those who want to help the TEN Moves project may course their donations through the following: BANK DEPOSITS a. BPI Ayala Foundation, Inc. / 0011-1335-41 / Ref No. D101010 + (donor's name) b. BDO Ayala Foundation, Inc. / 3600-1774-21 c. UnionBank Ayala Foundation, Inc. / 0021-0101-3065 Online donations via credit card through the TEN Moves website www.tenmoves.org Classroom shortage Among the provinces the Education Department identified to have the greatest need of classrooms are:

Pangasinan;

Isabela;

Batangas;

Quezon;

Palawan;

Camarines Sur;

Iloilo;

Negros Occidental;

Negros Oriental;

Cebu;

Bohol;

Leyte;

Zamboanga del Sur, and

North Cotabato. DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro said the Education Department is working to address the shortages in the sector by properly managing budget allocations. However, despite the government's efforts to address the classroom shortage, government resources alone remain insufficient to address resource gaps. Luistro said the program is also a good way for ordinary Filipinos to take part in a "new people power." "The country is in a stage where a lot of people are looking from the sidelines, saying, 'What is the government doing?' Maybe it's time to change that," he said. "Maybe it's time to say, 'What are you doing? What are we doing?" "To me, it's really a challenge for us, a new type of people power where we move from the sidelines, we move from being critics of those in government and those who are in business and say, 'I want to invest.' Invest a little part of you," he added. The campaign, which was started in July this year, has already gathered over P2.5 million in donations through individuals and corporate pledges. Earlier this month, the DepEd also encouraged Filipinos abroad to donate to the project. DepEd says it wants to prioritize addressing the classroom shortage because it leads to other problems in the education sector, such as the increase in drop-out rates and poor student performance. "It's not so much the amount of money that we will be able to raise. This is not fund raising," Luistro said. "This is engaging ordinary Filipinos in something I am certain will build a nation." - VVP, GMA News

Tags: deped