‘Replace defective public high school textbooks’

Somebody is thinking about the children.

A top administration congressman urged the Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday to order the withdrawal and replacement of defective textbooks used in public high schools nationwide.

Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya said the dangers posed by defective textbooks are no less "pernicious" than the dangers posed by defective public works projects.

"If we require an inanimate thing such as a substandard road to be replaced, then the more we should seek relief for the damage done on our children’s minds. Impaired knowledge must be attended to immediately," he said.

Andaya urged DepEd to "compel" a contractor to make good on a textbook, "Asya: Noon, Ngayon at sa Hinaharap," said to contain at least 431 factual errors.

Andaya, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, also urged the DepEd, now headed by former representative Florencio Abad, "not to accept the delivery of textbooks printed" on paper not "sturdy enough to last five years."

Under the Procurement Reform Act that he authored, Andaya said "faulty or defective goods" can be "replaced" or reimbursed, especially since the law "automatically puts a warranty on all government purchases."

"The anti-lemon provision of RA 9184, which the World Bank hailed as the world’s toughest, has junked the no-return, no-exchange policy in government purchases," he said.

Andaya said the requirement for textbooks to be printed on "good paper" was incorporated in the General Appropriations Act for 2002 after it was discovered that "millions of pesos are lost yearly to books that deteriorate easily."

"A special provision in the said law mandates DepEd to see to it that textbooks are printed on good paper that can withstand five years before they are condemned. The quality of paper on some books are ideal for lavatory, not classroom use," he said.

But quality textbooks could be just part of the solution.

Education Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz blames poor reading skills for the dismal performance of public school students in last May’s High School Readiness Test (HSRT).

To remedy the problem, DepEd is beginning this year a reading program to make "Every Child a Reader by Grade 3."

As part of the program, Luz said the department is stocking up on reading books for Grade 1 to Grade 3 students. — With Delon Porcalla