IT WAS THE International Day of Education yesterday. The annual observance aims to raise awareness on the importance of education and how to make it more accessible to everyone. Since it’s election season, may we know especially from candidates vying for a Senate seat their legislative agenda on education? What are their positions on the following: (1) Upgrading of salaries of teachers and non-teaching staff; (2) Safe, accessible, and quality education; (3) Effective pandemic response.
As future lawmakers, our senatorial candidates will hold great power to address the various issues hounding the education sector. Through passage of pro-people legislation and ample allocation of needed funds, together we can begin to resolve the worsening crisis of the Philippine education system.
One of the major pressing demands of the sector is the substantial raising of education workers’ salaries. In 2019, Congress passed the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) V. But teachers criticized the pay adjustment for falling short of what the President promised in his campaign and thereafter: the doubling of teachers’ pay. The paltry increases in SSL V proved to be negligible in the face of rising inflation and the costly demands of education amid the pandemic.
Teachers deserve better pay and benefits. Our senatoriables should at once commit to the raising of the standards of living of its education frontliners.
Candidates are also challenged to back the teachers’ call for better state support to education, which is crucial in ensuring continuous quality education delivery with or without the pandemic. Likewise, for education to fulfill its duties to the people and the nation, it must remain a democratic space — free from military intervention and impositions.
Ah yes, there’s the need to effectively contain the spread of COVID-19 and curb its dire impacts on education and other aspects of life. The over two years of pandemic has led to grave socio-economic crises across the country. In order to break the cycle of COVID-19 surges and subsequent class disruptions, we need better pandemic response — one that is not heavily focused on militaristic lockdowns, but on scientific and humane approaches that have proven to be effective in many other parts of the world.
The next set of legislators should overhaul our current pandemic response, and pour our resources on testing, tracing, and treatment, as well as on a better vaccination program and aid provision.
