The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday, Jan. 4, commended the national government for giving priority to the education sector by increasing its 2022 budget.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, in a statement, expressed gratitude to President Duterte and Congress after the education sector received the biggest hike in the 2022 budget.
"I would like to express my gratitude to President Duterte and Congress for the never-ending support to raise the quality of education in the country,” Briones said.
As announced by Malacañang, the education sector obtained the largest increase in the approved 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) with P788.5 billion.
The education sector, which includes DepEd, State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), will receive the highest allocation in the 2022 GAA.
The 2022 budget, DepEd said, is P36.8 billion higher or a 4.9 percent increase compared to last year's budget.
Meanwhile, Briones underscored that the increase in the 2022 budget will help the various reforms and initiatives to transform Philippine education amid the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
To ensure the safety of learners, teachers, and its personnel, DepEd has been implementing the Basic Education - Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) since 2020.
Despite challenges, DepEd opened SY 2020-2021 on Oct. 5, 2021.
After completing the first school year under distance learning in July 2021, DepEd also opened SY 2021-2022 last Sept. 13.
Without face-to-face learning, students in basic education have been learning their lessons under the distance learning setup.
Through multiple learning delivery modalities such as modular learning (printed and offline), online learning, television or radio-based instruction, and blended learning wherein two or more learning modalities are combined, Filipino students were able to continue their studies despite staying at home due to school closures.
“The increase in budget will certainly help our reforms and initiatives to transform education amidst the pandemic,” Briones said.