THE Department of Education is the most difficult to manage among the country’s government agencies. For one, it has to deal with more than 600,000 public school teachers in the elementary and high-school levels. For another, we have a classroom backlog of 144,000 units, low pay for teachers, and abysmal student performance in international assessments.
How to improve such a laggard? It starts with a good manager and a strong budget. Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara inherited many problems from his predecessor, Vice President Sara Duterte. One of them was the so-called “last-mile schools,” the program to build infrastructure in far-flung areas of the country. There was a budget allocated for it, but only less than 10 were built.
Angara went to work fast. He lobbied for a higher budget and got it. The Philippines has exceeded 4 percent of gross domestic product in education spending for the first time. We have finally met Unesco’s recommended standard for developing countries with the DepEd’s historic P1.012 trillion budget. The education budget accounts for approximately 15 percent of the national budget, consistent with the constitutional mandate that education should receive the highest priority.
Angara built the last-mile schools. He also worked on the low scores in reading by starting the ARAL program. The textbook budget has grown from P3 billion to P19 billion, and 90 titles have been procured in just three years, compared to only 27 in the 10 years before the Marcos administration.
Studies have shown that students learn best by doing, and that means workbooks where they can write their answers, do dyad work, peer group work and sketch out applications of the lessons into real life. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order was for public-school students to have their own textbooks to write on and keep. He also wanted a ratio of one student per book, the way it’s done in private schools.
The Philippines ranked last in the world in the 2019 PISA assessment and third from last in 2022, prompting the president to direct the DepEd to restore the country’s standing. Angara said that after just one year of the ARAL remediation program, millions of students are already moving from “struggling” to “emerging” readers. But he acknowledged that full recovery will require sustained, multi-generational commitment.
A whole-of-nation approach was also used in the building of classrooms, with a budget of P65 billion. Beyond this tired rhetoric, this approach involves the local government units (LGUs) in the construction of the classrooms. The funds were downloaded to the LGUS, as well as to civil society organizations and the private sector so they could help build the classrooms. The classrooms built, especially by the civil society organizations, are cheaper and last longer than the corruption-ridden ones built by Department of Public Works and Highways. Angara said that this approach is expected to produce 20,000 new classrooms in 2026, with 50,000 for 2028.
To combat the problem of malnutrition and stunting, central kitchens were built for every school division. These central kitchens provide hot meals to all kindergarten and Grade 1 pupils. This is funded under a P1 billion capital outlay as part of DepEd’s P25 billion school feeding program. Each kitchen can serve up to 10 nearby schools, with Jollibee also partnering with DepEd to build central kitchens in selected areas. Full rollout is expected in the first quarter of 2027.
Virtually every teacher allowance has also been raised, with the teaching allowance jumping from P500 to P10,000 and the Step Revenue Increment bonus reaching the maximum P20,000 for two consecutive years for the first time in history. Teacher Marianne Luchavez, who experienced the increased benefits herself, confirmed this on the dzRH News program “Special on Saturday” last weekend. She said that her fellow teachers also received increases in their chalk and clothing allowances, medical allowance, and year-end bonuses, transforming the financial reality for public school teachers.
The DepEd has also jump-started the promotion of public school teachers. For 27 years, teacher Marianne Luchavez of Valenzuela remained at Teacher I. She had to send three children to college and could not take further studies. Under the Marcos administration’s career progression reform, she finally received her first-ever promotion to Teacher IV. She is now one of 82,000 teachers whose long-overdue recognition is one of President Marcos’ legacies.
It’s the last two years of the Marcos administration, and the word “legacy” will be bandied around more often. The good moves being done at DepEd show that the legacy shines well in this agency.
