MANILA — Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye underscored today the importance of providing Filipino students with quality but affordable education as a way of alleviating poverty in the country.
(more…)
MANILA – The crisis of the country?s educational system is reflected in the dire plight of its public school teachers, whose salaries are not even enough to keep up with the high cost of living, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.
MANILA – Government support for the public educational system has been declining and this is manifested by the severe shortages besetting the sector, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.
Many of these children might have been forced to leave school to earn a living. In 2006 some 2.5 million children aged 5 to 17 were working either to augment family income or simply to survive. The number of children in school is also dropping: in SY 2005-2006 only 84% of children aged 6-11 was able to attend elementary school, a sharp decrease from 90% in 2001-2002.
According to Kabataan partylist, CHED granted the tuition increase even before consultations in schools for such an increase has yet to be completed. It said the hike came after a meeting between President Arroyo and COCOPEA, the organization of private schools. The CHED's "unilateral and shameless act shows the commission's subservience and capitulation to strong pressure from school owners even at the expense of students."