Abstract:
During the Arroyo administration, the changes in the secretaryship of the Department
of Education had been too frequent. These changes, however, were more as a result of
the dissatisfaction of the secretaries rather than an attempt to consolidate power
amidst the questions of legitimacy hounding the president. Notably, two of the six
changes may be directly linked to the issue of the legitimacy of the president: first,
the resignation of former Secretary Florencio Abad to join the Hyatt 10 in calling for
the resignation of the President, and two, the apparent loyalty-competence trade off
shown in the appointment of Secretary Jesli Lapus over Former Acting Secretary Fe
Hidalgo.
The frequent changes in the secretaryship of the Department of Education have
affected the way the Department of Education works. Ministerial discontinuity has
caused a frequent stop of the department with every change in secretary, followed by
an adjustment period and a change in priorities. Programs may essentially stay the
same, but the repackaging or changing of the names leads to confusion in the part of
the department middle managers that implement, monitor and evaluate the
programs. Ministerial discontinuity also affects the capacity of the secretaries to
introduce meaningful programs in the Department. With the exception of the effect of ministerial discontinuity in the secretary's capacity
in introducing new programs, ministerial discontinuity has affected the way the
Department of Education works because of the prevailing culture and level of
professionalism in the Department. There is an existing culture to stop and wait for
new instructions with every change in the secretaryship of DepED. This culture
prevails in a department wherein the professionalism of middle managers varies from
high to low.
These effects of the frequency of changes in the secretaryship of the Department of
Education, however, had little effect in the programs addressing the classroom
shortage and the output of these programs. Classroom shortage is primarily addressed
only through classroom construction, and existing legislature has even laid down how
the budget for classroom construction shall be spent. As such, little room is given for
the secretaries to initiate change in addressing the classroom shortage. Also, the
outputs of the programs are constrained by the fixed budget on classroom
construction since 2001.
Priorities-wise, however, the implementation of the program Brigada Eskwela, which
aims at prolonging the lifespan of classrooms and classroom furniture, has weakened
because its proponents are no longer in the Department of Education.
