If you fund education, you help build a nation.

Unfortunately, our government does not seem to think that way.

After distributing lapels, or voice amplifiers, to schools across the country, it appears that the educators are compelled to express public gratitude over an ordinary government obligation. This is evident in almost every Facebook post of the receiving schools. Further, some schools, specifically those under the Schools Division Office of Kalinga, even posted a video of their teachers ‘thanking’ the President and the Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara.

If the government cannot give you the best–or even the better–they will ask you to settle for the least.

These kinds of procurements cannot even suffice the scarcity within the schools and the sacrifices of teachers, yet the distribution was treated as though it was the government’s greatest achievement. Although it is not a problem to appreciate even the smallest things, the issue here is how this provision of basic materials for teaching could be glorified and that the actual needs of teachers, even those of students, could be overlooked.

The voice amplifiers are only one of the basic tools educators need for teaching. In fact, they do not even need those if only they are not forced to talk in overcrowded classrooms.

When you enter a school in the Philippines, more often than not you will notice the severe congestion of students in a single room due to the insufficiency of classrooms. This was stressed by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2). This prompts the teachers to shout during discussion just so their voice could reach the learner at the back of the room.

They may also not need those procurement had their pockets not squeezed out.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines revealed that with persistent low wages that leave most Filipino Teachers unable to meet basic living costs, teachers are sinking deeper into debt. In addition, after surveying 800 schools, they also showed that the majority of teachers still personally fund school repairs and materials. Sadly, they are the ones being squeezed out because they carry a burden that should be borne by the government.

We have long believed that education is the key to success, yet our educators continue to struggle. So, when our government continues to believe that bare minimum support is worth glorifying, no lapel will ever be loud enough to drown out the deafening struggles of Filipino teachers.

The Frontman