Briones defends ‘chalk’ allowance

MANILA, Philippines -  Education Secretary Leonor Briones agreed yesterday with Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno that the education department has already included the budget for chalk in public schools for next school year.

But she took it easy on outright rejection of the Teachers Allowance Act 2017, which proposed a 100-percent increase in the “chalk allowance” from P2,500 to P5,000 that was recently approved by the Senate.

“The chalk allowance is actually in addition to the allowance of the teachers themselves,” Briones said.

 Last week, Diokno said he would recommend that President Duterte veto the measure.

“The schools down to the principal level, they all have a budget called the MOOE or the Maintenance and Operating Expenditures. That reaches millions, depending on the size of the schools,” Briones said. “The superintendent has MOOE, the principal has MOOE, even regional offices have the funds.” 

She explained that the MOOE is allocated and audited to the last centavo.

But she also noted that chalk is no longer used in many of today’s public schools, now modernized and using computers, LCD projectors and powerpoint presentations. 

“That is really an increase in subsistence allowance for the teachers,” the education secretary said.