Gov’t to expand school literacy and cash-for-work programs

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday said his administration will expand school safety, literacy and cash-for-work programs nationwide ahead of the opening of classes on June 8.

Speaking during a Brigada Eskwela inspection at Kapitbahayan Elementary School in Navotas City, Mr. Marcos said the government is rolling out security upgrades, including closed-circuit television cameras in schools, while accelerating maintenance and rehabilitation work before classes resume.

He said that under the budget, the government has allocated funds for the preparation of public schools.

“The implementation of 147 schools that will be assisted has been completed; 3,658 have become beneficiaries of TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers), and what we have allocated is P26.12 million in total funds that we have distributed,” he said in Filipino.

“Implementation is now underway — there are still 181 schools that will be assisted; 4,597 are beneficiaries of TUPAD; and there is P37.14 million allocated for that program,” he added.

Mr. Marcos was accompanied by Education Secretary Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Social Welfare Secretary Rexlon T. Gatchalian and Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino.

Brigada Eskwela or the National Schools Maintenance Week mobilizes teachers, parents, students and volunteers to clean, repair and prepare public schools ahead of the school year.

NATIONAL EDUCATION COUNCIL
Meanwhile, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) on Tuesday pushed for the establishment of a National Coordinating Council for Education to consolidate agencies on education.

During the Senate Basic Education Committee hearing, EDCOM II Executive Director Karol Mark R. Yee raised that they have identified at least 68 interagency bodies but noted that they lacked proper coordination in developing a common education agenda.

“There are so many councils, bodies, and technical working groups that, in terms of the number of EDCOM bodies in 2023, there were at least 68 interagency bodies that need to be attended to by the three agency secretaries,” Mr. Yee said, referring to the Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Mr. Yee said that 18 of the documented agencies which hold quarterly meetings are attended jointly by the DepEd, TESDA, and CHED.

He noted that the number of agencies where the DepEd is needed may have already reached 200 by 2026.

Mr. Yee added that the plurality of the interagency bodies has led to a lack of focus and implementation challenges, resulting in waste of resources.

“There is now greater impetus or confidence that this body could last, could be the way to make things more coordinated,” Mr. Yee said.

He said that the secretaries of the three agencies have proven that the DepEd, CHED, and TESDA can work together as seen in the implementation of the Education Workforce and Development Group.

The hearing, presided by Education Committee Chair Lorna Regina “Loren” B. Legarda, tackled several Senate bills on education, including the Governance of Basic Education Act, amendments to the Adopt-A-School Act, K to 3 Foundational Learning and Nurturing Care Act, and the National Education Council.

Ms. Legarda on Monday also reconciled the House and Senate bills on the enhancement of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act which aims to institutionalize the prioritization of senior high school graduates from Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program on the list of Tertiary Education Subsidy recipients. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana and Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel