DepEd: P1,000 monthly allowance for students fake news

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) denied reports circulating on social media that all students would receive a P1,000 monthly allowance while junior and senior high school (SHS) students would be required to undergo a weekly alcohol test.

“The DepEd reminds the public again to be more careful and vigilant of information posted online. Fight fake news and misinformation,” DepEd said in a post on its Facebook page.

It also advised the public to visit the official social media accounts of DepEd to be advised of legitimate announcements and information on basic education.

It was only last week when Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste filed House Bill 27 that seeks to provide a P1,000 monthly allowance to cover a student’s food, transportation and school supplies expenses.

He also said that the government would have to allocate P300 billion yearly for this program.

‘Retain SHS’

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian defended the retention of SHS and pushed for a shorter college track, warning that abolishing Grades 11 and 12 would misalign the Philippines with nearly all education systems worldwide.

Out of 214 countries reviewed by his office, 212 – or 99.5 percent – implement more than 10 years of basic education, Gatchalian told dzBB on Saturday, citing a research paper his team compiled for education proposals.

“This shows that K to 12 has become the global standard. We need to align with the rest of the world,” he said.

Gatchalian has filed a bill proposing a shift to a three-year college model that would streamline undergraduate programs by eliminating redundant general education subjects that are already taught in high school.

He pointed to subjects like Physical Education, which students take throughout grade school and high school but are still required in college.

Under the bill, college students could graduate a year earlier under the four to five-year model which can to reduce educational expenses and enable faster entry into the workforce.

Critics have questioned whether the move is a veiled cost-cutting measure for the government, given the budgetary pressures of providing free tertiary education.

Gatchalian rejected this, saying the objective is to unburden families, not state coffers.

“This is not an economic retreat. It’s an education reform meant to benefit Filipino households. We want to ensure students graduate earlier, begin working earlier and support their families sooner,” he said.

He noted that Filipino students typically finish college around age 22 or 23, but with the proposed reforms, they could graduate by 21 – an age he called their “prime” for productivity.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada filed a bill to abolish SHS or the Grade 11 and 12 in the basic education system, saying it failed to achieve its intended goals and only burdens families with additional costs.