The Bigger Picture: Public School Facilities in Time of COVID-19

J A N A H A N D R E A W. T I B U D A N

The Ripples Publications

We frequently use the term “sana all” without intending it to be handled seriously, usually in the case when we find something we lack but desire, in the possession of others: Sana all rich; sana all maganda; sana all may love life.

SANA ALL naka-kapag-aral is a single sentence spray painted on the walls of urban-poor Bahaghari. To associate it with our petty everyday phrases is ignorant when it is most relevant at this time. Not everyone can go to school, not everyone can learn with the privilege most private schools have.

It is no longer surprising to one familiar with the public school system of the country to hear of classrooms being divided into smaller compartments to accommodate more than the maximum number of students. Take for instance Juan Sumulong Elementary School, a public school in Antipolo where up to 200 students share a classroom divided into four. It is likewise not new to hear of makeshift or improvised classrooms ranging from nipa huts and covered courts to the shade of nearby trees.

According to DepEd, more than 80% of the entire Philippine student body enrolled in public schools in 2019. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) however commented on how teachers and students alike in public schools around the country “continue to suffer age-old problems” with lacking facilities, personnel, and learning resources.”

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic is now calling for more improvements as schools adopt blended learning which entails primarily, the use of digital equipment — something public schools do not readily have. Many students and even teachers are not skilled in ICT. In Malabon, six schools with a total population of almost 26,000 students have been sharing less than 300 computer units. Moreover, anticipating the return of students, the commonly overpopulated classrooms are a hazard against safety protocols for social distancing.

When students do not have access to the basic services and facilities a learning environment requires, they are more likely to underperform academically. An investigation by Lim and Lee back in 2016 on the relationship between school facilities and academic achievement found that students in rural areas with basic facilities have performed better than schools in urban areas with poor facilities.

In another perspective, teachers are also burdened with the lack of provisions. According to ACT, public school teachers are often forced to shoulder classroom expenses such as damaged appliances due to low quality and lack of funding. This is on top of having to discipline and educate masses of students consecutively.

The effects of this lack of — and improper – facilities are increasing as each generation of students graduate (unless they have opted to discontinue, which is also a prevalent matter) unprepared to handle the future of the country. The problems have multiplied in the midst of the pandemic. On a national level, failure to provide efficient facilities could hinder national development. Economic growth, for one, is a traditional and major pillar in the progress of national development, and is highly associated with the availability of educated workers as they move the pawns in stocks of labor, human capital, physical capital, and technological change. In turn, there is a decrease in poverty. In a paper by Lim and Lee (2016), data collected from 97 provinces and cities with provincial status indicated how positive school experiences are associated with the reduction of poverty. Furthermore, social change, social justice, environmental sustainability, and even empowerment contribute to the modern national development, all can be sourced from a proper education.

So what is the government doing about it? As of June 2020, DepEd has allocated P700 million for internet connection in 7000 public schools to prepare for blended learning. Quezon City’s local school board also plans to donate 176,000 tablets to high school students with a P2.9 billion supplemental budget. Additionally, 40% of teachers have completed training for distance learning in the National Educators Academy of the Philippines with the 60% expected to finish by July.

However this is not enough. Government operations are sluggish. In 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the national budget into law after an almost 4-month delay hindering the 66,050 classrooms that DepEd was in the process of constructing. “There is a budget for it,” DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said. It is the procurement process that “affects and delays it” – among others. During the 2019 Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE) launch, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Assistant Secretary Antonio Molano Jr. commented on how complicated it is to assess the actual state of schools as they differ from one another and “standards and other issues” must be addressed first. This reveals that the Philippines still has a long way to go in order to develop and maintain the infrastructures necessary for an effective education.

Finally, families from private schools are not the government, but when capable, what other reason is there to reject calls of donations? It is not simply an exercise of privilege but also of humanity. Ateneans are always called to do more, so let us do more at this time when it is most necessary. Remember — Sana all naka-kapag-aral — a wish, in the form of illegal graffiti, from the generations of poor that do not have the privileges we do.