House Assistant Majority Leader Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles said looking for additional funds for the education sector is an enormous challenge as a result of the COVID pandemic-triggered recession.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“We have an enormous challenge ahead of us because what has been a staggered approach towards distance learning has now become an inescapable reality," Nograles said a few weeks before the House of Representatives tackles the proposed P4.5-trillion budget for 2021.
Nograles said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a forced rethink of how education is conducted, and thus, "we have to employ creative means and craft a national strategy that can be implemented as soon as possible."
The deadly contagion has made face-to-face instruction with students untenable, thus, the pressing need to make distance learning methods such as online classes and the use of self-learning modules the new normal.
As for funding, he said the other sectors aside from education will "jostle for scarce resources amid an economic recession."
The Harvard-trained lawyer vowed to find ways for the education sector to get the money it needs, especially with his recent appointment as a new technical panel member in public administration and agriculture by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
“I am humbled by this new appointment, and I vow to become an active partner in the CHED’s goal of raising the quality of higher education in our country," Nograles said.
“Among the roles that I will have to take on is advocating for more funding for education. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into the trap of thinking we can sacrifice education because of our recovery efforts,” he stressed.