Gov’t urged to redirect Cha-cha funds to bolster education system

MANILA – A teachers’ association has urged the government to prioritize raising teachers’ salaries and constructing new classrooms instead of permitting foreign ownership of schools through revisions to the Charter.

Following the House of Representatives’ recent second reading approval of Resolution of Both Houses 7 — which eases restrictions on foreign ownership in primary and higher education, among other economic modifications — Vladimer Quetua, Chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, asserted that the government should allocate its resources towards addressing the shortage of over 100,000 classrooms instead of pursuing Charter changes.

Quetua characterized the anticipated expenses of conducting a plebiscite for Charter change as a “clear misallocation of resources” particularly when educators and students are contending with “overcrowded and unsuitable learning environments.”

The proposed Charter change resolutions in both the House (Resolution of Both Houses 7) and the Senate (Resolution of Both Houses 6) aim to ease foreign ownership restrictions within the education sector. Advocates for Charter change argue that these amendments would attract more foreign universities to the Philippines. However, education experts express concerns that the country’s reputation for hosting diploma mill schools might instead lead to the influx of lower-tier universities from abroad.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a staunch supporter of economic amendments to the Charter, has voiced his preference for synchronizing the Charter change plebiscite with the 2025 midterm elections to reduce expenses.

“Even Marcos Jr. himself admits that holding a plebiscite for ChaCha is impractical and costly,” Quetua said.

“Instead of wasting time pushing for ChaCha, which will only expose our economy further to foreign interests, the Congress should prioritize legislation of bills on increasing wages, granting workers and employees the much-needed economic relief amid the crisis, and resolving the worsening learning loss,” he said.

The chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers also expressed dismay, stating that it is “appalling” to see education budgets being cut despite the significant backlog and shortage of resources.

“Teachers and all other employees and workers are also being scrimped with measly wage increases and benefits, yet funds can be set aside and spent on ChaCha solely for the interests of foreign entities and a few in power,” Quetua said.

Likewise, Representative Raoul Manuel from the Kabataan Partylist criticized the government for “shirking its responsibility” to enhance access to education by advocating for the entry of foreign investments in both basic and higher education sectors.

“Like the promised P20 per kilo of rice, this economic Cha-cha (charter change) of Marcos is another attempt to dupe people and the youth,” Manuel said in Filipino during a press conference on Thursday.

“We don’t believe in the promised quality education in opening up education to foreigners because quality and accessible education is the responsibility of the government. Education should be given sufficient funds and not left to foreigners,” he added.

During the same press conference, Quetua cautioned that proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution could exacerbate the “commercialization of schools.”

Quetua expressed concern that permitting 100% foreign-owned schools to operate in the country could result in the closure of smaller schools and the subsequent layoffs of their education personnel.

“It seems that the current administration is not alarmed with the worsening education crisis that we are facing,” he added.

In the previous year, the Department of Education (DepEd) fell short of its classroom construction target, completing only 58%, or 3,673 out of the intended 6,379 new classrooms.

Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte has set a slightly more conservative goal for this year, aiming to construct at least 4,000 new classrooms by the end of the first semester of 2024.

A month before the start of the school year in August 2023, DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas revealed that public schools faced a shortage of approximately 159,000 classrooms, necessitating a funding of at least P397 billion.

According to a 2023 policy note by the state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the Philippines has one of the lowest government expenditures per student at primary and secondary levels globally. This limited funding for education has hindered the education sector’s ability to enhance students’ learning competencies.

To improve students’ learning outcomes, PIDS emphasized that the government should not only increase its education budget but also ensure more effective and efficient utilization of available resources.