(by Dang Samson Garcia)
SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian lamented the quality of jobs that graduates of technical-vocational courses are getting.
While eight out of 10 TESDA graduates are employed, their salaries are below minimum, he said.
“The jobs they are landing are below minimum wage. So that’s not commensurate with the one to two-year time they spent – not only their time but also their money,” the senator said.
“They cannot even reap the rewards or get the returns of that investment because of that. I think that’s a very important point that needs to be addressed,” he added.
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva echoed Gatchalian’s concern.
“Is it our goal to just make sure that our trainees land jobs, or we wanted to get them out of poverty and ensure at least they receive above minimum wage?” Villanueva asked.
“If this trend will continue, then we are only allowing them to land jobs below minimum wage, and there’s no way we can help them actually get out of poverty,” he added.
By Dang Samson Garcia
SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian wants to ensure that the Department of Education will have the budget to implement the learning recovery plan next year in order to address the learning loss resulting from the Covid19 school closures.
Gatchalian said that programs for learning recovery should be designed to capture students who are struggling to master the competencies required of them to ensure the efficient allocation and utilization of resources.
He asked the DepEd to submit its budgetary requirements for the implementation of learning recovery measures. While the DepEd said that it can tap around P4 billion allotted under the Basic Education Curriculum, Gatchalian wanted to know if the agency has enough allocation to reach learners needing the most intervention.
“Since we are still recovering from the impact of the Covid19 pandemic, we want to make sure that there are funds for learning recovery under the DepEd’s 2024 budget,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education said.
The World Bank estimated that as of June 2022, learning poverty in the Philippines is 90.9 percent.
The DepEd previously announced that it is implementing the National Reading Camp, the National Mathematics Program and the National Science and Technology Program to combat learning losses during the pandemic.
It also implemented the National Learning Camp during the end-of-school-year break of School Year 2022-2023. The program’s phased implementation started with Grades 7 and 8, focusing on Science, English and Mathematics.
By Dang Samson Garcia
SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian is eyeing the implementation of a universal meal program to address Filipino school children’s nutrition problems such as stunting, wasting, and undernutrition.
“My dream is to have a universal meal program, ensuring that everyone receives sustenance regardless of their nutritional status, just like what other countries are doing. While it will require substantial resources, we will not stop looking for them or innovating,” said Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
According to the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute’s data for 2021, around 2.7 million or 20 percent of children aged 5 to 10 are stunted or have a low height for their age, 2.8 million or 21 percent are underweight, and around 1 million or 7 percent are wasted.
The funding for the school-based feeding program this school year will expand the coverage to 220 days or the entire school year.
In previous school years, there were only 120 feeding days.
From a budget of P5 billion, the budget of SBFP went up to P11 billion under the National Expenditure Program 2024, an increase of 105 percent.
The Department of Education targets 1.6 million beneficiaries from Kindergarten to Grade 6 for next school year.
Citing an internal study on the implementation of the SBFP, DepEd Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Francis Cesar Bringas said the DepEd tends to have the same beneficiaries every year since learners tend to revert to the state of being malnourished if they only receive school meals for 120 days.
The DepEd official added when these learners go back to school from their two-month vacation, they also tend to go back to the state of being malnourished.
“We all know a hungry child will not learn. A lot of these issues happen during the early childhood days, some of which are quite difficult to repair when they enter kindergarten or primary schools. But then again, we need to do this intervention to prevent further regression or further damage in their bodies and in their health,” Gatchalian added.
The DepEd also plans to extend the SBFP’s Milk Feeding Program Component’s implementation from 47 to 55 days.
By Dang Samson Garcia
AMID calls to review the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education or the free higher education law, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian sought to expand the capacity of State Universities and Colleges so that more students can receive free college education.
“Mahalagang hakbang ang pagpapatupad ng libreng kolehiyo upang mabigyan ang ating mga kabataan ng mas magandang kinabukasan. Ngunit dahil sa kakulangan ng ating mga SUCs ng mga silid-aralan, pasilidad, at mga guro, may mga kabataan pa rin tayong hindi nakikinabang sa libreng kolehiyo kahit na kwalipikado sila, at dapat natin itong tugunan,” Gatchalian said.
The lawmaker earlier pointed out how the free higher education law, which he co-authored and co-sponsored, increased the number of learners who pursued college.
Before the enactment of the free higher education law, the progression rates from high school to college stood at 54 percent and 62 percent for Academic Years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, respectively. When the free higher education law was implemented, the progression rate from senior high school to college surged to an average of 81% from 2018 to 2022.
Gatchalian, however, shared that consultations with presidents of SUCs revealed that some students, who already passed admission exams, end up not enrolling because some SUCs lack teachers, classrooms and facilities that could accommodate them.
Despite the budget increase for free higher education over the years, he lamented that the capital outlay for SUCs did not increase commensurately.
Gatchalian urged the government to develop a roadmap to address capacity issues.
For 2024, the proposed budget for the implementation of the free higher education law is P51.1 billion.
Gatchalian also said that a national screening test to determine the eligibility of students for free college education is unnecessary as SUCs and local universities and colleges already have their own admission exams.
He gave assurances that through the Second Congressional Commission on Education, efforts to strengthen basic education will continue to improve learners’ chances of entering and completing college.