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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Someone who knows what she's doing': Castro says educator should head DepEd

'Someone who knows what she's doing': Castro says educator should head DepEd

Published Sep 22, 2023 08:45 am

At A Glance

  • Placing a "genuine educator" at the helm of the Department of Education (DepEd) will solve the supposed learning crisis in the country, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said.

20230922_163930.jpgACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (PPAB, Facebook)

Placing a "genuine educator" at the helm of the Department of Education (DepEd) will solve the supposed learning crisis in the country, a teacher-congresswoman said on Friday, Sept. 22.

"With such a deep learning crisis, we need an educator with knowledge, experience, and compassion for students, teachers, and education workers at the helm of DepEd," Makabayan solon ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said in a statement.

Vice President Sara Duterte, a former longtime Davao City mayor, is the current DepEd secretary.

"In short, we need someone who knows what she’s doing - not a politician who considers it a stepping stone to higher office and treats the DepEd as a law enforcement agency," Castro said.

Although Castro didn't mention the Vice President by name, the pronoun "she" was conspicuously used in the statement.

"Aside from its findings that the Philippines remains among the poorest in learning in East Asia and the Pacific, with nine out of 10 of Filipinos unable to read and understand a simple, age-appropriate reading material by age 10, the World Bank (WB) report on the quality of education in the region, also red-flagged the Philippines as being among the worst countries —because the Philippine government spending on education represented only 3.2 percent of the country’s wealth or gross domestic product (GDP) when it should be at least 6 percent," Castro said.

"The WB study also emphasized that central in solving the learning crisis is to support our teachers. This can be done by significantly increasing their salaries and benefits, lessening their workload and giving them ample time to rest and recharge. All of these have been raised by ACT decades ago but officials of the DepEd hardly listen," she added.

There is no love lost between Castro and Duterte.

Castro and the rest of the Makabayan bloc have been criticizing the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for spending P125 million in confidential funds during a 19-day period in December 19. They've repeatedly raised the matter in the ongoing House deliberations on the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024.

Related Tags

deped ACT Teachers party list Sara Duterte FRANCE CASTRO
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