QC to Congress: Expand coverage of special education fund

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon City council approved last week a resolution urging the Congress to amend the Local Government Code to expand the purposes and application of the special education fund (SEF).

The measure – introduced by fifth district Councilor Aly Medalla – said there is a need to amend the coverage of the SEF to enable local government units to use these in other education-related projects such as the alternative learning system (ALS) and the hiring of supplemental non-teaching personnel.

Under the Section 272 of the Local Government Code, the additional one percent tax on real property will accrue to the SEF and should be automatically released to the local school boards.

It said that the “proceeds shall be allocated for the operation and maintenance of public schools, construction and repair of school buildings, facilities and equipment, educational research, purchase of books and periodicals, and sports development as determined and approved by the local school board.”

The Quezon City council noted the need to expand the coverage as the law limits the allocation of the SEF to the formal education system.

The ALS – which has been promoted by the city government in recent years – is a non-formal education system that provides flexible and accessible learning opportunities to out-of-school youth and adults.

In addition to this, the council also noted the need to fund the participation of school officials and teachers in education seminars and trainings to improve their performance, especially in the implementation of the new K-12 basic education curriculum.

“The large school areas and dense population of public schools in cities like Quezon City necessitates the hiring of supplemental non-teaching personnel such as janitors, utility workers and clerks, the funds for which the national government cannot adequately provide and the SEF does not allocate for,” the measure stated.