Press Release
October 27, 2011

ANGARA PUSHES FOR SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS

Senator Edgardo J. Angara is pushing for scholarships for teacher educators in all Normal Schools and Universities in the country to help enhance the quality of instruction in convergence with the full K-to12 reform in basic education.

"We must support the continuing education of our teachers. We call them our unsung heroes so we must not remain deaf to their needs. Any hope for quality education in our country lies in the hands of our educators," said Angara.

The Normal Schools and Universities in the country, collectively known as 3Ns, or National Network of Normal Schools, earlier appealed for support in terms of faculty development in light of budget cuts in the tertiary sector.

The group was convened by the Philippine Normal University (PNU) as the National Center for Teacher Education in the Philippines, and is composed of the State Universities of Mariano Marcos, West Visayas, Bukidnon, Palawan, Bicol, Western Mindanao, and Pangasinan, and the Normal Universities of Leyte and Cebu.

If approved, the government, through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), will finance doctoral scholarships and dissertation grants to 120 faculty members of the 10 schools during its first phase.

Angara, Chair of the Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, however believes that to sustain gains in teacher education, a three-year timeline should be pursued. "This is the best time to be concrete in our promise of better education. While we work on curriculum improvement and prepare for full K-to-12 program implementation by 2016, our teachers must be equally ready."

He continued, "Instead of spreading our financial resources too thinly, it would be wiser to concentrate these scholarships to teacher educators, who in turn educate and train our students and future workforce--including those aspiring to be teachers. If we do not help them raise the standards on a par with the best teacher education institutions in the world, then we will definitely lack competent educators who will implement all our curricular improvements."

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