Date Published: August 28, 2023
Time Published; 11:50 AM
Volunteering and helping each other is part of the culture in the Philippines. It is somehow called “bayanihan”—an act of people that is being taken advantage of in the present time, an example of this is something you surely know.
In the month of August 2023, the Department of Education (DepEd) officially started this year’s Brigada Eskwela (BE). This yearly event is all about repairing and cleaning of the public schools facilities by the teachers, students, and different volunteers before the start of classes. The DepEd stated in a news report that there will be no more contests and awards; to avoid solicitation [1]. It gave light to the past existence of those contests and awardings and ‘maybe’ because of it the teachers are forced to do beyond in that BE so they can meet the standard requirement to win.
As discussed in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, Article XIV, Section 2; “Establish and maintain a system of free public education in the elementary and high school levels. Without limiting the natural right of parents to rear their children, elementary education is compulsory for all children of school age” [2]. It speaks about free public education for the students—it is a commitment of the country, so there is also an allocated budget for it to function—so why does the Brigada Eskwela still exist?
Brigada Eskwela is popular in our country because it became a so-called tradition in public schools. If you will try to ask some public school students or alumni if they attended a BE, maybe they will say yes. The schools have a budget that is set aside for their maintenance, teacher salaries, staff needs, and other operational expenses. But it is an open secret that the teachers always get a budget from their own pocket for their school needs.
There is a fund for each agency or department, they must allocate more for the education sector. Repairs and beautification of the schools shall be shouldered by the DepEd, not on the volunteers or teachers.
The said yearly event is conducted during the vacation, wherein the teachers shall be using it to rest. Instead, they are in the school weeks early to prepare for the opening of classes. Yes, they must prepare for the incoming school year, but this Brigada Eskwela should be an exemption for them. It is not the teachers’ job to clean and prepare the facilities because that is out of their scope of work.
This Brigada Eskwela must not exist at all—yes, it’s a great way to show the spirit of volunteerism, but we don't need volunteerism when it comes to matters that should be well funded. The DepEd announced last year that over 18.1 million students are enrolled in public schools [3]. Therefore, that million of students is already a reason for the department to prioritize more funds for the education sector—that shall be properly distributed and used.
Not because a matter is something that we are already used to, it doesn’t mean that it is right and must be continued. Some of it is just left alone or neglected. If something is not right anymore, then we must speak up and defend what we know is right and what we deserve. The people behind the education sector must think of how they will prioritize the maintenance of school facilities because brigada eskwela must be put into an end. Let the teachers just teach.
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References:
[1] Marcelo, E. (2023, August 13). DepEd kicks off Brigada Eskwela today. Philstar.com.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/08/14/2288513/deped-kicks-brigada-eskwela-today#:~:text=MANILA%2C%20Philippines%20%E2%80%94%20The%20Department%20of,of%20classes%20later%20this%20month.
[2] The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines – Article XIV | gov.ph. (n.d). Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines-article-xiv/
[3] Galvez, D. (2022, August 16). DepEd: Over 20.6 million learners enrolled for SY 2022-2023| Inquirer News. INQUIRER.net.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1646932/over-20-6-million-learners-enrolled-for-sy-2022-2023
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