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Thursday, May 18, 2006
Lack of budget tests DepEd’s skills
Although the 2006 national budget has not been approved yet, Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani said yesterday the Department of Education (DepEd) was able to access funds for school buildings and the training of teachers.
The DepEd also requested the Department of Budget and Management to release funds for the salaries of teachers hired last year and the new teachers.
He said the department proposed the hiring of 10,000 additional teachers for this school year, which will start in three weeks.
Bacani said Oplan Balik Eskwela will be launched again this year to address the anticipated lack of classrooms, desks, chairs, textbooks and even teachers in public schools nationwide.
Under pressure
But Bacani, in an interview with reporters after the launching of Brigada Eskwela in Consolacion National High School, admitted that reports on the decline of the country’s population growth rate are a “welcome development” to the DepEd, which is burdened by the steady increase of students, amid a limited budget.
“In the past 15 years, we had a 2.36 percent population growth rate. The reduction in the growth rate to below two percent will lessen the pressure on the education system,” he said.
Bacani said that despite the delay in the budget approval, the P2-billion appropriation for school buildings was already released this year to the DepEd and the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The DepEd is operating on a reenacted budget instead of its proposal of P112 billion, some 12.35 percent of the country’s budget.
The amount will include P1.8 billion needed for the purchase of new English textbooks, which are due for replacement according to the DepEd schedule.
Last year’s budget for textbooks stood at P800 million.
Bacani said the textbooks will go to all elementary and secondary public school students. (CYR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 18, 2006 issue)
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