RP has 9,000 ‘school-less’ barangays

There are at least 9,000 out of the country’s 42,000 barangays which do not have a single school to address the educational needs of its young residents, former Speaker Manny Villar bared yesterday.

"Ideally there must be a school in every barangay to provide easy access to education for our youth," said Villar. As a result, he adds young students in school-less barangays have to travel far to attend classes or are denied access to education.

Villar says he will push a long-term program to set up school buildings in barangays that are in need of such structures.

"How can young children from poor families move up in life if they are not provided with a means to improve their status such as education," stressed Villar.

The People Power Coalition Senate bet had pointed out earlier the need to increase the allocation of the country’s barangays by increasing their share in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) by at least five percent.

"Our barangays must be given the means to efficiently deliver basic services such as education," said Villar, as he pointed out the importance of education in helping fight poverty.

"This will at least give poor children a means to move up in life," stressed Villar, a former fish vendor from Tondo.

Funds for setting up a barangay education system says Villar, must be included in the country’s education budget next year. "We must make access to education easy for poor students. They must be able to avail of quality education right in their own barangays," he stressed.

Under his term as Speaker, Villar pushed key education reforms to uplift the quality of the country’s graduates. Among passed measures is a bill that integrates the teaching of computer education in public elementary and high schools all over the country.