Province bares shortage of 1,000 teachers

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Provincial Schools Division superintendent Dr. Arden Monisit said Cebu Province still lacks about 1,000 teachers even after they hired 600 new ones.

The original number needed was 1,600 but it was lessened when local government units helped address it by allocating locally-funded teachers in their areas, said Monisit at the weekly Tapok-Tapok sa Media Forum at NS Pension.

Monisit said Governor Gwendolyn Garcia committed 200 items funded by the Provincial School Board while some mayors also renewed their commitment making it 600 teachers added.

The PSB approved last May 17 the total annual budget of P201.705 million for school year 2012-2013.

This includes the budget for the distribution of lesson plans for teachers, school supplies and computers and the construction of 200 classrooms.  The budget encompasses the secondary, elementary and the pre-school levels.

The board has also agreed to adjust the monthly compensation of the PSB teachers to P12,000 per month, the same rate as the municipal-hired teachers through a memorandum of agreement for the contract of their services.

Garcia, chairwoman of the PSB, earlier said that she will find a way to implement the 1:40 teacher-student ratio as she is planning to hire 500 teachers to decrease the shortage.

Monisit said that with the additional teachers, they are able to achieve the 1:45 to 1:50 ratio as adjusted by the school heads.

Before the June 4 opening of classes, Monisit said he instructed school heads to make use of all available rooms and not hold classes under the shade of trees.

“Rest assured that no classes were left behind in the Province of Cebu,” Monisit said.

To address the lack of classrooms, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. proposed a partnership with the Cebu Provincial government in constructing an additional 30 high school buildings with six classrooms each.

The RAFI and the Province of Cebu will put up P30 million each for the construction of the said building. —/BRP (FREEMAN)