Teachers' group scores Arroyo for disregarding education in SONA

MANILA, Philippines - A militant teachers’ group on Tuesday scored President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for allegedly disregarding the education sector in her eighth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday. In a statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teacher (ACT) accused President Arroyo of deliberately “turning a blind eye to the worsening education crisis in the country and a deaf ear to the teachers’ clamor for better pay in the fire of dire economic conditions.” “Listening to yesterday’s speech will leave you with the impression that it’s all business as usual in the education sector,” ACT Chairperson Antonio Tinio said. Tinio said that since President Arroyo took over the presidency in 2001, more than 3 million children between the ages of six and 15 are now out of school. He said the rise in school drop-outs occurred in the same period as the increase in the number of people officially classified as poor. According to the National Statistics Coordination Board, the number of people living in poverty rose by 2.9 percent from 2003 to 2006. Tinio also noted three flaws and limitations in the government’s system of vouchers and subsidies, which the President referred to in her speech. These flaws include the absence of vouchers and subsidies to elementary students as they are only available in high school, the extremely limited number of the beneficiaries, and the fact that the beneficiaries are mainly from lower-middle class students instead of poor students. - GMANews.TV