President: New laptops for teachers—‘procured with no anomalies’
Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Monday lauded President Marcos’ fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) as a “simple yet powerful” message that focused on the daily struggles of Filipinos.
“I didn’t think the President could top last year’s Sona. But somehow, he has,” Angara said in a statement after the President’s address at the Batasang Pambansa.
Angara welcomed what he described as the “rare attention” paid to education issues in the speech, citing the President’s promise to ease the burdens faced by teachers and students.
Alleged rigged bidding
Among other benefits, Mr. Marcos announced that teachers are set to receive their new laptops for the school year 2025-2026 and that “we have made sure their procurement is not riddled with anomalies”—in a likely jab at the alleged irregularities surrounding the purchase of P8 billion worth of laptops and related equipment during Vice President Sara Duterte’s stint as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary from 2022 to 2024, and which were raised by the House committee on good government last year.
Angara also praised the President’s announcement of a new college scholarship program that would help lift more Filipinos out of poverty.
Mr. Marcos said he would provide a “Presidential Merit Scholarship” to high school graduates who receive high honors.
The details of the scholarship program, including its scope and eligibility criteria, have yet to be released, but Angara expressed optimism that the initiative would help bridge access gaps in higher education.
Classroom shortage
Mr. Marcos also vowed to build 40,000 new classrooms before his administration ends in 2028 in a bid to close the country’s classroom shortage crisis that has forced millions of students to study in overcrowded spaces.
He called on the 20th Congress to allot enough funds for DepEd’s school infrastructure program.
“[The situation of our students] is really disheartening. Their time in class should no longer be cut short due to a shortage of classrooms,” he said. “With the help of the private sector, we will strive to build 40,000 more classrooms before the end of our administration.”
Last month, DepEd said it could take over 55 years to resolve the country’s long-standing classroom shortage, pegged at around 165,000, if the Philippines sticks to its current pace of construction.
Aging infrastructure, an ever-growing student population, and decades of underinvestment in the education sector have led to this chronic shortage, which has forced teachers and students to do double shifts in the same classrooms.
The Marcos administration has said it has overseen the construction of over 20,000 new classrooms, many of which were done through public-private partnerships.
Learning essentials
Earlier this year, Angara presented a P37.5- to P60-billion infrastructure plan involving the private sector to build 15,000 new classrooms by 2027. This project is estimated to benefit over 600,000 students nationwide and generate over 18,000 jobs.
Apart from new classrooms, Mr. Marcos vowed to deliver on other learning essentials, such as smart televisions, free Wi-Fi, and free load via the Bayanihan SIM card to help students cope with the needs of a postpandemic curriculum.
He also said his administration would allot P6 billion in funds to sustain the country’s free college education program and technical and vocation education scholarships.
Some 6,000 new teaching items have been added, he said, along with the assurance to teachers that they would be paid for teaching overload and overtime.
