Latest news with #SenateCommitteeonBasicEducation
GMA Network
6 days ago
- Climate
- GMA Network
DepEd urged to expedite repairs of classrooms damaged by bad weather
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to fast-track the assessments and repairs of classrooms damaged by tropical cyclones Crising, Dante, and Emong, as well as the enhanced Southwest Monsoon or Habagat. Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said that the DepEd should work with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and local government units in order to expedite the rehabilitation of affected classrooms. 'Kung mananatiling sira ang ating mga classroom, magpapatuloy ang banta sa kaligtasan ng ating mga mag-aaral at guro,' he said in a statement. (If our classrooms remain damaged, the threat to the safety of our students and teachers will continue.) Based on DepEd's situation report as of Wednesday night, its disaster risk reduction and management service recorded 1,876 classrooms with minor damage, 562 with major damage, and 531 that were totally damaged. Most of the classroom damage was logged in the Cordillera Administrative Region (738), followed by the Ilocos Region (732) and then Central Luzon (227). DepEd said that it had initiated the release of response funds to affected schools to support immediate clearing and clearing operations. Gatchalian also underscored the importance of making classrooms and school buildings climate-resilient 'not just to protect lives, but to break the costly cycle of repair and reconstruction every time disaster strikes.' 'Investing in resilient infrastructure now will save resources, safeguard learning, and ensure continuity in education,' the senator added. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
7 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Romualdez: Free college law should include stipend, address dropouts
The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act should be expanded to reduce, if not eradicate college dropouts, Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez on Wednesday. In a statement, Romualdez said that according to the latest report of Second Congressional Commission on Education, nearly four in 10 students still drop out despite the passage of the Free College Law. 'Free tuition was a landmark achievement, but the work is far from over. Nearly four out of 10 students in state universities and colleges are still dropping out. In some regions, the situation is even more alarming,' he said. 'These are not just statistics. They are shattered dreams and interrupted futures, often because students cannot afford transportation, food, rent, books or internet. We need to protect and build on the gains of the Free Higher Education Law by ensuring students have the means to actually finish school,' Romualdez added. He said the government must consider strategic interventions such as monthly stipends, transport subsidies, food allowances and digital access programs. 'These [additional support] are gaps we must urgently fill if we truly want free higher education to be a ladder out of poverty,' Romualdez said. Based on a Pulse Asia survey conducted in January 2024 and commissioned by Senate Committee on Basic Education chairperson Sherwin Gatchalian, 8 percent of Filipinos support free tuition in state-run colleges and universities. Romualdez then said the expansion of the Free College law should start with the review of the measure as provided under House Resolution 61 filed by Bicol Saro party-list Representative Terry Ridon. 'We owe it to our students to fund this law properly. We owe it to every Filipino family to give their children a real chance at a better future, and we owe it to the nation to make education a powerful equalizer, not an unfinished promise,' Romualdez said. — BM, GMA Integrated News
