Public school teachers praise PNoy admin for more accessible funds

Public school teachers had more access to their school’s budget during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, thanks to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) fund implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd).

Madel Roxas and Elena Carillo of the Lolomboy Elementary School (LES) in the municipality of Bocaue in Bulacan, Aquino’s so-called bosses, praised the “school-based budgeting” of DepEd allocating funds for public schools to faster address their needs.

“'Yung pondo ngayon naging managed by the school. Kaya na-utilize ang budget, naibaba talaga. 'Yung school na 'yung bahala sa repair niya sa mga classroom, tapos 'yung mga supply. Naibaba siya kaya [nakuha] talaga ng mga paaralan 'yung pinaka-main concern nila,” Roxas said.

Meanwhile, Carillo said the MOOE allowed teachers to lessen their solicitations from other sectors just to fund their class’ concerns.

“Dati bahala 'yung teacher maghanap…Magso-solicit 'yung teacher ng malalapitan tulad kung gusto niya magpataas ng room dahil laging binabaha. Ngayon medyo nabawasan na 'yung mga ganoon sa tulong din nito,” she said.

Under the MOOE, funds are made ready for public elementary and secondary schools that can be spent on activities and necessities that support learning programs and help maintain a safe and healthy environment in schools. 

According to the DepEd website, the fund can be used to procure school supplies, pay for utilities and communications, training activities, graduation rites expenses, security and janitorial services, minor school repairs, and activities included in the School Improvement Plan.

Elena Carillo of Lolomboy Elementary School in Bocaue, Bulacan says schools were able to utilize the funds given to them wisely. Joseph Tristan Roxas

Roxas, teaching Grade 5 pupils for more than nine years, noted LES receives a monthly fund of P70,000 for their MOOE which is divided among the teachers once the school’s bills are settled.

“Nakakatulong din sa mga teacher 'yan. Kasi 'yung mga mga major repair, hindi na kailangan manggaling sa bulsa ng teacher kasi under na 'yun ng MOOE. Tapos nakakapag-procure ng supply na nagagamit ng mga teacher, for example manila paper, cartolina, bond paper,” Roxas said.

However, Carillo said the 53 teachers of LES had to wait for their turns on who receives the funding first to address each class’ needs such as classroom repairs for the benefit of more than 2,000 students.

“Kailangan maghintay kami every month kung sino na 'yung susunod na mapapa-repair 'yung [classroom]. Kumbaga hindi kami sabay-sabay na mapagbibigyan sa mga request namin. Kailangan una-una. Good thing pa rin, malaking bagay,” she said.

According to DepEd’s website, LES had a budget allocation of P1.1 million for fiscal year 2016 as of March 28 compared to the P921,000 it received for fiscal year 2015.

The amount of MOOE issued per public elementary and secondary school is based on the total school enrolment, number of teachers and classrooms, and the number of graduating students.

K-12 concerns

Carillo, teaching Grade 1 pupils for 22 years, credited the K-12 program for its “holistic approach” allowing her students to interact more with their classmates.

“Ang maganda naman sa K-12 nabubuo 'yung ‘holistic approach’, hindi lang 'yung bata nagsusulat at nagbabasa, pero natuto silang makipag-interact sa bawat kaklase. Habang lumalaki, 'yun ang siguro mai-improve, 'yung bata makaka-[interact] siya sa ibang tao habang lumalaki,” Carillo said.

Meanwhile, Roxas praised the “spiraling” of subjects under K-12 where each topic is covered from the basic to the advanced level.

“Ang maganda sa K-12 is 'yung tinatawag na spiraling. Sa spiraling kasi bawat subject o lesson magkakaroon siya sa mga susunod pang grade, tumataas lang 'yung level. Bawat year a little of everything mas mataas lang 'yung level,” Roxas said.

Madel Roxas expressed concern at the lack of learning materials for their students at Lolomboy Elementary School in Bocaue, Bulacan. Joseph Tristan Roxas

However, both grade school teachers questioned DepEd’s preparedness on the K-12 since the law was passed in 2013.

Carillo said she first saw the benefits of the K-12 program but eventually observed the slow progress it gives to the children, except the slow learners.

“Medyo nakikita ko na mabagal 'yung progress ng mga bata. Pero sa mga slow learner, sa mga 'di pa ganoon kahanda, mas maganda sa kanila, mas mai-re-ready sila ng mabuti sa susunod na hakbang ng pag-aaral. 'Yung spiralling na kung tawagan,” she said.

Carillo added DepEd requires more reports from teachers now to track the progress of their students, giving them less time to engage with them.

Roxas, meanwhile, expressed concern at the lack of learning materials for their students who she called “K-12 babies” or the pioneering batch of students under the K-12.

She said teachers instead use their lesson plans to create classroom activities and visual aids for grades without learning materials such as Grades 1 and 5.

“Wala kaming learner’s materials. Ang mga bata wala silang books. Ang nangyayari siyempre as a teacher, kailangan mo gumawa ng para sa sarili mo, para sa classroom mo. Siyempre ikaw ang magbibigay ng mga classroom activities sa kanila,” Roxas said.

Roxas added the school supervisors of the Division of Bulacan help them in innovating learning materials and teacher’s guide, at least as the first grading is concerned, while they await the delivery from DepEd.

“Ang kainaman lang sa Division of Bulacan 'yung mga school supervisors din kasi ang nag-i-innovate ng mga materials… bawat teacher mayroong teacher’s guide saka learner’s materials pero ang bata wala. First grading pa lang 'yun, ang second grading 'di namin alam kung magkakaroon kami. Mayroon kaming curriculum guide pero guide lang 'yun,” Roxas said.

Earlier, outgoing DepEd Sec. Armin Luistro said the government is ready to implement the K-12 program based on the agency’s timeline and milestones achieved per month. 

He added the Aquino administration already addressed the classroom backlog and trained additional teachers for the senior high school.

"'Pag sinabi po nating handa ... sa isang malaking plano katulad po nitong (K-12) program, mayroon po tayong timeline or mga milestones bawat buwan, bawat linggo ng buwan ay dapat meron tayong nakikita na nangyayari," Luistro said.

Luistro’s successor, Leonor Briones, also earlier emphasized she is willing to continue the K-12 program because suspending it now can only pose more problems. 

Briones said the government had ample time to prepare since the law was passed in 2013 and Filipinos only felt its full impact now with the rollout of Grade 11 in senior high school this school year.

‘Let teachers teach’

Asked what they can say to the incoming Briones leadership in the DepEd, both Roxas and Carillo had one concern in common—allow teachers to spend more time teaching than making reports.

“Let the teachers teach. Bawasan ang paperworks…'Yung oras na nilalaan mo para gawin 'yun, puwede ba mapunta na lang sa oras ng paghahanda namin sa mga bata?” Roxas said.

“Para sa effectiveness ng pagtuturo, 'yung mga binababang trabaho, masyado na maraming paperworks minsan, 'di mo na matutukan ngayon [ang students]. Parang gusto mo 'yung oras mo ngayon ibigay mo na lang sa mga bata para ma-prepare ang kanilang mga kailangan,” she added.

“Sana makita uli ng bagong administrasyon at ng bagong DepEd secretary na ang pagtuturo nakasentro sa mag-aaral, hindi nakasentro sa kung anupamang curriculum. Ang guro nandito nagtuturo sa mga bata katulad ng misyon ni Jesus Christ na turuan ang mga bata,” Carillo said.

Grades for the PNoy admin

As to how they can rate the education sector, both Roxas and Carillo gave passing remarks to the Aquino administration.

Roxas gave Aquino an 85 percent as he caps off his term from the 80 percent grade he received when he started in 2010. The improvement is due, among others, to the recently passed Salary Standardization Law-4 (SSL-4) giving government employees, including public school teachers, increased pay that still somehow helped to improve their lives.

“Nag-improve naman… Sa salary naman tumaas kaya lang through SSL-4 'di naman lumaki masyado, 'yung mga malalaki lang 'yung suweldo, advantage sa kanila. Sa amin, nagtaas. Salamat, kaya lang 'di siya ganoon karamdam,” she said.

Meanwhile, Carillo gave 95 percent to Aquino in his end-of-term evaluation from the 83 percent he had in 2010. —KG, GMA News