Education to get P1-trillion budget under Ka Leody-Bello leadership
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE Leodegario “Ka Leody” de Guzman, and his running mate, former Akbayan Party-list representative Walden F. Bello, said on Tuesday that they plan to increase the budget for education to P1 trillion if they are elected as the country’s next leaders.
“We need to raise the budget for education not just for classrooms and facilities, but for upgrading the capability of our teachers, and raising their wages,” Mr. De Guzman, a longtime labor sector leader, said at the presidential forum of the Commission on Elections in partnership with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas.
He said a higher allocation for the sector would provide free training for teachers and improve the public school curriculum.
“The curriculum of our schools has become too profit-driven instead of focusing on critical thinking, we need to focus on moral training and critical thinking not just the technical aspects,” he said.
Mr. De Guzman added that a lack of emphasis on human rights and history subjects in schools is a major contributor to the spread of fake news.
Mr. Bello told the same forum that of the P1-trillion proposed budget for education, P300 billion will be devoted to improving the quality of education at all levels.
The education sector’s allocation in this year’s national budget is P788.5 billion, according to the Department of Budget and Management.
Mr. De Guzman also said the government should promote a more inclusive education system that accommodates students with special needs, and brings schools closer to students and teachers in far-flung areas.
“The situation of students reflects the state of our teachers as well, which is why teachers should not have to pay for their training and should be included in the government’s budget,” he said.
The labor leader earlier proposed a “Universal Students’ Magna Carta,” a law that would institutionalize students’ rights and academic freedom.
In his closing statement at the forum, Mr. De Guzman reiterated that his government would recognize workers as partners in the country’s development.
“The mark of our government would be a government of the people, not the of billionaires,” he said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
