DAVAO CITY, Philippines – As public schools open on June 8, Mary Jean Lahoy-Lahoy has already spent thousands for her children this school year.
The 48-year old mother originally from Bansalan, Davao del Sur, has two children enrolled at Rizal Elementary School in grades 2 and 6, and she listed down the budget for their school bags, notebooks, uniforms, shoes and other needs.
“Bags, notebooks, I went for not expensive bags because they cost P1,000 each, so I got affordable ones at P400. A grade 6 student needs 10 notebooks? Then there are bond papers, and also construction papers. These are really need at school,” Lahoy-Lahoy said in Cebuano.
Giannina Pangandapan-Alcober, a public school teacher and mother of two who are enrolled at Malativas Elementary School, also estimates spending around P1,000 for each child.
But once she adds in new uniforms and shoes, she spends around P 5,000 for each child.
While public schools provide education at elementary and secondary levels at no costs, “free” education never means the absence of expenses, as parents shoulder costs long before the first lesson begins and after.
Daily allowances
Alcober and Lahoy-Lahoy said that aside from school supplies, the biggest expenses come from daily meals and transportation.
“Of course, we prepare the children’s snacks. And then, in the middle of the year, their shoes might get worn out, or it is their bags. They use up their notebooks from writing, and their pencils or ballpens. Every now and then you have to refill their supplies,” said Alcober.
“Every week they spent P100 just for transportation. That’s not including meals, which is P500 a week. That’s P2,000 a month and there’s no absence for that,” said Lahoy-Lahoy.
Another mother, 31-year old Yra Gentapanan, from Cabantian, said spending for this has been difficult because of the rising costs every year which worsened this year with the West Asian oil crisis.
“Especially now, almost all prices went up, including the jeepney fares,” said Gentapanan.
Lahoy-Lahoy said this forces them to make difficult choices.
“We have to borrow money. Sometimes instead of buying rice, we prioritize school projects especially when it is due at school,” Lahoy-Lahoy said.
She said school activities create additional expenses.
“For instance, they make your child join the Mr. and Ms. United Nations, so you need to spend money on that. Aside from the wardrobe you also need other things for the event,” she said.
Gentapanan said rewards for children in joining extracurricular activities have resulted in financial pressure.
“I think extracurricular activities are highly focused in schools today, wherein students get additional grades for participating, unlike in our days when this is optional and the focus is on academic performance. From uniforms, outfits and other expenses related to said events it’s all costly,” she said.
She also questioned why parents are still asked to shoulder some operational costs in public learning institutions.
“There are monthly dues for prep school which covers electricity and water supply for the day care center. I thought [the] government should shoulder that instead of the parents,” Gentapanan asked.
Filling the gaps
For Alcober who also teaches in a public school, she also has to spend for her students who face similar struggles.
“You need to shell out from your pockets. When you set activities, then your students could not afford to buy the materials you will have to provide,” she said.
She said in some cases, teachers also share school supplies and even meals with students who arrive at school without the basic necessities needed for learning.
“You have students who have nothing, who come to schools without food. You need to give effort, if you have something to share, why not?”
Community stepping in
Despite these problems, teachers and parents still step in to ensure their children get the best in these challenging conditions.
The yearly Brigada Eskwela, a volunteer-driven initiative that mobilizes parents, teachers, local organizations, and community members, finds everyone contributing to repair classrooms and even buy appliances.
“What happens is we always buy electric fans, because the rooms are humid and that’s hard for the kids,” said Lahoy-Lahoy.
The community support makes up for the shortage of government funding, but Gentapanan thinks the government has the money but it’s just spent in the wrong places.
“I think the government should not only focus on ayuda (cash assistance) for the low income families. Instead, they should improve school amenities and systems, and support public schools with supplies so that they don’t need to ask parents to fill up what’s lacking.”
Alcober said students learn best when classrooms have adequate resources.
“Students can’t focus if the classroom is not conducive. If there’s no TV to view the lessons, if there’s no electric fan, no complete set of school supplies, if only all this can be provided so that the teachers would not be the one looking for these,” she said.
Such problems have been raised by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers in the past years, pushing for an increased education budget to at least 5% of the country’s GDP to address shortages in classrooms, learning materials and infrastructure.
But for now, the parents and teachers grind for another year of shouldering the costs in a public school system that supposedly is free. (davaotoday.com)
