Just so You Know

Ma. Lucia S. Dela Peña

It takes a village to educate a child. Yes it is true that learners acquire knowledge, skills and attitude through the teaching and learning process facilitated by the teacher. However, there are also people behind the stage that contribute in the attainment of this endeavor. The school community is composed of different teaching and non-teaching personnel that work handin-hand to achieve the goal of an educational institution. Private and public schools alike employ non-teaching personnel to take care of the non-teaching aspects of an educational institution.

People who takes care of the operating funds of schools are as important as the teachers. They help schools run smoothly. They are responsible for the purchasing of equipment, supplies, and other stuffs that are used by teachers and maintenance to keep the school operation running seamless. Disbursing officers and bookkeepers work together to handle the funds of the school. Specifically among public schools, these personnel keep the financial transactions of the school. They are responsible for downloading the funds that the school needs for the whole year. They budget the school expenses. From the water bills, electric bills, payment of internet connection, salary of teachers, maintenance personnel, school nurse, records officer, school librarian, and the like, they do the math to keep the sheet balanced all the time. They also undergo trainings and seminar to keep abreast with the current system that the government commission on audit asks them to comply with. More so, they process the salaries of newly hired teachers and those who are eligible for maternity benefit pay. They keep the expenses of the school checked. This means that the budget of the government for a learner in a school year is spent wisely up to the single centavo. This keeps the public school students in the school, learning, without spending as much as those studying among private institutions. So the next time we thank teachers for a job well done, do not forget other non-teaching personnel who also work that keep everything in the school work well.