SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday, February 21, told local chief executives to “convene your school boards and evaluate the needs of your local schools” following her education report in January where she said that the lack of facilities was “pounding” basic education.
“Our schools in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas are in dire need of your support. An investment in education secures the future peace and progress of your locality,” Duterte said during the 2023 General Assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), where she was the guest speaker.
The LMP assembly is a nationwide conference for municipal mayors and serves as an avenue for talks on local development.
Duterte, who is concurrently education secretary, served as Davao City mayor for nine years.
In her speech, Duterte said that while the Department of Education (DepEd) was able to secure funding for the construction of new school buildings for 2023, it is still not enough to cater to the needs of all cities and municipalities.
During the presentation of her Basic Education Report on January 30, Duterte had said that only P15.6 billion was allocated for construction this year, as the government targets to build 6,000 classrooms.
DepEd figures show that the country lacks 91,000 classrooms for school year 2022-2023.
“We adhere to the needs-based checklist that we came up with…to prioritize the geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and the last-mile schools of the Department of Education,” Duterte said.
The Vice President also told the mayors not to intervene in the hiring of teachers for public schools, as the DepEd values the quality of teachers that they would have.
“Hindi po dapat nating pinipilit kung sino ‘yung kakilala, kaibigan, kamag-anak natin sa pagpapasok o hiring ng ating mga teachers sa Department of Education,” she said.
(Don’t insist on someone you know, a friend, or a relative when it comes to hiring teachers under the Department of Education.) – Rappler.com
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