By Merlina Hernando Malipot
Despite the decrease in the allocation for new classrooms in the proposed budget for 2019, the Department of Education (DepEd) assured public schools nationwide will continue to have additional classrooms.
FILE PHOTO/Manila Bulletin
DepEd Finance-Budget and Performance Monitoring Undersecretary and Spokesperson Annalyn Sevilla clarified that while the budget for Basic Education Facilities (BEF) suffered a 67 % cut – from 105, 461, 287 to 34, 742, 454 – additional classrooms will still be built as part of its commitment to catch up in providing more basic education inputs. “DepEd is set to deliver 81,630 classrooms, which are currently in various stages of implementation, until the end of December 2019,” she said.
In its original 2019 budget proposal, DepEd allocated 47,000 new classrooms as part of its BEF program but in the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) National Expenditure Program (NEP), it is reflected that there is a “significant reduction with 4,110 new classrooms instead.” This is attributed to the proposed cash-based system by DBM.
MORE TIME FOR COMPLETION
Despite the budget cut in BEF, DepEd is looking at it as a “breather” to finish the ongoing construction of school buildings. “It’s to give breather to DepEd and DPWH on the number of constructions that we are now doing,” said DepEd Undersecretary for Administrative Service Alain Pascua.
“By the end of December 2019, we will have about 80,000 new classrooms built, which will come from the allocations and programs and projects that have started since 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 – that’s the rationale provided to us,” Pascua added.
During the budget deliberation at the Congress, concerns arose when DepEd stated that the reduction in the proposed allocation for new classrooms “may result in an average of 10 and a minimum of two classrooms to be allocated per district.”
Pascua explained that of the 81,630 classrooms currently being delivered until the end of 2019, 60,149 classrooms are ongoing construction; 12,059 are under procurement; 7,052 are for procurement; and 2,369 have been constructed from July to August 2018. On top of these, 22,133 classrooms were constructed from July 2016 to June 2018.
BREATHING SPACE
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the new budget system – in its final form – will give a breather to the DepEd in terms of programs and projects to be completed. “This gives breathing space to the Department in responding to needs and expectations of the public,” she said in a recent press briefing.
This “breathing space” Sevilla noted, will also enable programs like the BEF to be “implementation-ready” come 2019. “In the proposed 47,000 classrooms for 2019, it equates to the required number of classrooms for the estimated enrollees, but it also has to be implementation-ready,” she explained.
Sevilla added that DepEd has a fund that can be tapped for “preparatory activities” like pre-detailed engineering wherein “cleaning up of necessary preliminary works such as design, costing, and validation” is covered. “Once it goes to the NEP, you immediately go to procurement so this breathing time is for us to do those things, so when we request for next year,” she ended.
FILE PHOTO/Manila Bulletin
DepEd Finance-Budget and Performance Monitoring Undersecretary and Spokesperson Annalyn Sevilla clarified that while the budget for Basic Education Facilities (BEF) suffered a 67 % cut – from 105, 461, 287 to 34, 742, 454 – additional classrooms will still be built as part of its commitment to catch up in providing more basic education inputs. “DepEd is set to deliver 81,630 classrooms, which are currently in various stages of implementation, until the end of December 2019,” she said.
In its original 2019 budget proposal, DepEd allocated 47,000 new classrooms as part of its BEF program but in the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) National Expenditure Program (NEP), it is reflected that there is a “significant reduction with 4,110 new classrooms instead.” This is attributed to the proposed cash-based system by DBM.
MORE TIME FOR COMPLETION
Despite the budget cut in BEF, DepEd is looking at it as a “breather” to finish the ongoing construction of school buildings. “It’s to give breather to DepEd and DPWH on the number of constructions that we are now doing,” said DepEd Undersecretary for Administrative Service Alain Pascua.
“By the end of December 2019, we will have about 80,000 new classrooms built, which will come from the allocations and programs and projects that have started since 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 – that’s the rationale provided to us,” Pascua added.
During the budget deliberation at the Congress, concerns arose when DepEd stated that the reduction in the proposed allocation for new classrooms “may result in an average of 10 and a minimum of two classrooms to be allocated per district.”
Pascua explained that of the 81,630 classrooms currently being delivered until the end of 2019, 60,149 classrooms are ongoing construction; 12,059 are under procurement; 7,052 are for procurement; and 2,369 have been constructed from July to August 2018. On top of these, 22,133 classrooms were constructed from July 2016 to June 2018.
BREATHING SPACE
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the new budget system – in its final form – will give a breather to the DepEd in terms of programs and projects to be completed. “This gives breathing space to the Department in responding to needs and expectations of the public,” she said in a recent press briefing.
This “breathing space” Sevilla noted, will also enable programs like the BEF to be “implementation-ready” come 2019. “In the proposed 47,000 classrooms for 2019, it equates to the required number of classrooms for the estimated enrollees, but it also has to be implementation-ready,” she explained.
Sevilla added that DepEd has a fund that can be tapped for “preparatory activities” like pre-detailed engineering wherein “cleaning up of necessary preliminary works such as design, costing, and validation” is covered. “Once it goes to the NEP, you immediately go to procurement so this breathing time is for us to do those things, so when we request for next year,” she ended.