Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia | CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has asked the Department of Education (DepEd) to prioritize the purchase of educational materials such as textbooks that will help improve in teaching English as a medium of instruction in public schools in Cebu province.
She wanted instruction materials and textbooks that are written in English purchased and distributed to all public elementary and high schools for school year 2020-2021 to make students “globally competitive again.”
Garcia said that the acquisition of art materials, musical instruments, robotics facilities, laptops and tablets, and laboratory equipment charged to the Special Education Fund (SEF) is not a priority of her administration for now.
Read: Gwen wants English back as main medium of instruction in public schools
The governor said she already expressed her disapproval of requests for purchase which DepEd officails presented to the Provincial School Board (PSB), where she sits as co-chairperson, during their February 4 meeting.
Aside from being costly, the purchases proposed by DepEd is “impractical and would (only) cause more burden to parents.”
“Just think about it. Kung mao na ilang demands sa mga bata, intawon kindergarten palang padad-on na ana. Kinsa may mag bago? Kinsa may mo gasto? Ang mga ginikanan. That’s an added burden to parents. Public schools tawon ni oi, kadaghanan ani mga pobre kaayo ning atong mga studyante. Unya mao ni demanda nila?” she said.
(Just think about it. If these are their demands, will they also demand those enrolled in kindergarten to also bring these? Who will spend for its purchase? The parents. That’s an added burden to the parents. The very reason why they are enrolled in public schools is because most of these students come from poor families. How can they (DepEd) make such demands?)
DepEd submitted to the PSB a list of items amounting to around P159.6 million which they wanted purchase for the next school year. Their list included provisions for poster paints, construction papers, cartolinas, molding clays, crayons, and ukeleles.
SugboNews, the Capitol’s media arm, posted on their social media site that DepEd’s request for school and art materials supplies for public high school students amount to P55 million.
The request for electronic equipment such as an interactive board display, teachers’ laptops, and mobile tablets that will be used to implement the education department’s “21st century classroom” program cost P40 million while another P17.4 million is needed for school furniture such as chairs and tables for elementary schools.
Other items on DepEd Cebu’s list include school supplies for elementary students – P17 million, robotics equipment – P12 million, a mobile dental van – P10 million, and the purchase of 490 ukuleles for elementary students – P735, 000. Another P2.5 million is also needed for the titling of lots now occupied by several public high schools.
The appropriation for the purchase of reading materials for elementary students was only pegged at P5 million.
“Well, we have just defined, in accordance with the budget nga perteng daghana akong gipang-slash. I said we are willing to spend on instructional materials, on textbooks for as long as these are all in English, from kindergarten to senior high school,” Garcia said.