Higher ‘chalk allowance’ for teachers sought

Jee Y. Geronimo

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Higher ‘chalk allowance’ for teachers sought
'In the war against illiteracy, these are the ammos our teachers use,' says Senator Ralph Recto, author of Senate Bill 812 which seeks to increase the allowance for teaching supplies from P1,500 to P3,500

MANILA, Philippines – A Senate bill wants to increase the “chalk allowance” or the teaching supplies allowance for public school teachers from a yearly P1,500 ($31.08) to P3,500 ($72.51).

Floor debates on Senate Bill 812 or the Teaching Supplies Allowance Act of 2016 began Wednesday, October 19, after senators Ralph Recto and Antonio Trillanes IV delivered their sponsorship speeches that day.

Recto authored the bill, while Trillanes is chair of the Senate committee on civil service, where the bill was referred to after first reading.

Teachers use their “chalk allowance” which they get at the start of every school year to buy school supplies they will need in teaching, such as chalks, pens, erasers, and paper.

Citing the Department of Education’s (DepEd) 2017 teaching workforce of 797,119, Recto said the proposed P3,500 allowance will amount to a total of P2.78 billion ($57.59 million).

But for him, even the proposed amount is not enough and “won’t personally enrich teachers, but it will somehow enrich the way they teach.” (READ: INFOGRAPHIC: How much are public school teachers getting?)

Recto also pointed out that the original amount of P1,500 translates to a “measly” P7-per-day budget for a school calendar with 202 days.

“[The chalk allowance] may be a mere speck in the budget, but it cannot be dismissed as unimportant. Chalks, and pens, papers and cartolinas are to teachers what bullets and combat rations are to soldiers,” Recto said in a statement on Saturday, October 22.

He added: “In the war against illiteracy, these are the ammos our teachers use.”

A P2,000-increase, the senator said, would allow teachers to buy prepaid load for online research, and computer supplies such as USBs.

“In this digital age, there are computer-related supplies the teacher uses, and these must be considered in computing the supplies they need,” Recto explained.

He insisted that it should be a congressional initiative to increase this “chalk allowance” or else “it will remain the same” if left to the executive.

Of the P2.78-billion allocation needed to fund the increase, Recto said P1.2 billion ($24.86 million) is already in the proposed 2017 budget. Additional funding will be needed for the remaining P1.58 billion ($32.73 million).

In Senate Bill 812, P1,500 of the chalk allowance will come from the DepEd budget, while the P2,000 will be funded through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

The DepEd’s proposed 2017 budget amounts to P567.56 billion ($11.75 billion). About P15.5 billion ($321.12 million) from this will be used in hiring teachers needed in basic education. – Rappler.com

$1 = P48.27

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Jee Y. Geronimo

Jee is part of Rappler's Central Desk, handling most of the world, science, and environment stories on the site. She enjoys listening to podcasts and K-pop, watching Asian dramas, and running long distances. She hopes to visit Israel someday to retrace the steps of her Savior.