Despite the 19-percent increase in the funding allocated to them, the Department of Education (DepEd) is short of some 93,599 elementary- and secondary-school teachers since the government has only allocated P1.65 billion—enough to hire 10,000 new teachers this year—while classroom shortages stood at 134,400.

The DepEd has allocated P12.45 billion for the construction of new classrooms this school year.

The department expects more than 20 million elementary and secondary students to troop to public schools when classes formally open after the two-month-long summer break. At present, there are 38,351 public elementary and 7,274 public high schools in the country.

Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino of Kabataan said this year’s opening of classes is no different from the previous years, when the country’s public-education sector is overwhelmed by the influx of elementary and high-school students.

This, Palatino said, despite the DepEd’s budget hike from last year’s P175 billion to P207 billion, the first time that the allocation for basic education has breached the P200-billion mark.

“The school opening in June will once again bring to light harsh educational realities. The lack of education budget imperils a smooth school opening as shortages in textbooks, chairs, classrooms and teachers continue to plague basic education,” Palatino said.

In terms of school furniture such as chairs and tables, Palatino said the DepEd has a shortage of 12,056,919. The department has allotted P1.15 billion to offset the deficit.

The DepEd has also set aside P5.83 billion for scholarship slots under the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (Gastpe).

Palatino said the DepEd needs an additional P140 billion on top of this year’s funding to cope with the shortages.

“These problems will inevitably affect the quality of education the students will receive. How can basic education qualitatively function in the context of dire shortages? Students cannot properly learn if, in the first place, there are no sufficient classrooms to study in, chairs to sit on and teachers to learn from,” he added.

He further said that if these problems will not be solved before next month’s opening of classes, many public schools will once again pass the burden of making ends meet to the students and their parents despite the existing “no-collection fee” policy of the DepEd.

Brigada Eskwela

Meanwhile, the DepEd is gearing up for the National Schools Maintenance Week, commonly known as the Brigada Eskwela Week, where the community and the private sector, together with the parents, are pushed to participate in the cleaning and refurbishing of schools in their localities.

Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro said this year’s Brigada Eskwela will be held from May 23 to 28.

Luistro has also ordered the implementation of the Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE) from May 31 to June 10 to ensure the smooth opening of classes.

He also boasted that two international agencies have joined the DepEd’s Brigada Eskwela, which will help spruce up public schools in time for the opening of classes. Luistro said the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have signified their participation to this year’s Brigada Eskwela by adopting public schools for repair and repainting.

“We expect more pledges of participation from the private sector and, hopefully, international agencies as the Brigada draws nearer,” Luistro said, adding that AusAid has committed to adopt schools for cleanup and repair in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, while USAID chose three schools it will help repair and repaint.

Aside from AusAid and USAID, other participating agencies include Ayala Foundation  Inc., Coca-Cola Foundation Inc., GMA Kapuso Foundation Inc., IBM Phils., Intel Technology Phils., JVR Foundation, Microsoft Philippines, Nutri-Asia Inc. and SouthEast Asia Food Inc., Philippine Business for Social Progress, ABS-CBN Foundation Inc., Smart Communication Inc., San Miguel Corp., Philamlife  and Unionbank, Rebisco Foundation, Standard Chartered Bank, FFCCCII, Fit for School, Hands on Manila Foundation and Autovention Corp, Crown Worldwide Movers,Inc. Mannasoft tech Corporation, Networkers and Entrepreneurs Dev’t Cooperative and Wilkins Builder.

Brigada Eskwela is an annual schools clean up and repair activity spearheaded by DepEd and participated in by NGOs, parents, students,teachers, the business sector, civic organizations, government and private sector employees. It enjoins participants to donate construction and cleaning materials or serve as volunteers to prepare the schools two weeks before the opening of classes. It does not accept cash donations.

Last year, Brigada generated an equivalent amount of over P1.7 billion from donations in kind and manhours spent in school repairs which would have otherwise been taken from the maintenance and other operating expenses of public schools.

Luistro explained that Brigada stirs up a sense of community among the participants, especially among the students, as they work side by side with other education stakeholders towards a common cause.

“We all want to make the schools clean and ready for the opening of schools so that by June 6, our students can buckle down to their regular school work,” he elaborated.

Brigada Eskwela will kick-off on May 23 with a motorcade starting from the DepED Central Office in Pasig going  to  Bago-Bantay Elementary  School in Quezon  City, where  a  ceremonial  program will be held.

When Brigada was first launched in 2003, only 31 percent of all elementary and secondary public schools participated but because of overwhelming response from the public and the bayanihan spirit that it engendered, it was made an institutional annual event in 2008.  Since then, Brigada is 100 percent participated in by all public elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

Brigada Eskwela won an Anvil Award in 2010, the only government line agency to receive the coveted public relations award.

Luistro’s order also called for the setting up of the OBE-Interagency Task Force to foster greater coordination with other government agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of National Defense, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Health, as well as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

The DepEd will also set up Information and Action Centers at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City and at the department’s regional and division offices to be manned 24 hours for the duration of the OBE project to receive the public’s complaint and feedback on the preparation and opening of classes.

Hotlines to receive calls, text and fax messages and emails on complaints and concern of the parents and students as well as a help desk would also be set up during that period.