THE Department of Education (DepEd) 7 has implemented cash-based budgeting starting this year, which can affect the school building programs in Central Visayas.
DepEd 7 Director Juliet Jeruta said that in implementing the cash-based budgeting, they are expecting the allocated budget for a particular project not to go to waste.
“We are only going to release an amount enough for a number of projects,” said Jeruta.
Jeruta said that in this budgeting strategy, DepEd is requiring the schools to finish its projects within 12 months.
Jeruta explained that before, the school could request 100 classrooms to be built. With the new system, they can only request for 10 classrooms, based on the allocated budget and the expected time of completion.
Jeruta said cash-based budgeting means reducing the budget for projects, but it also guarantees that there is a finished product at the end of the year.
“Before, we just released a budget, but the project could not meet the completion date, or sometimes, the building started too late,” Jeruta explained.
Only projects that can be completed in a year will be given funding.
Jeruta emphasized that cash-based budgeting can put a stop to underspending on projects.
Jeruta said they will prioritize those schools in the mountainous and coastal areas and those that still have a lot of problems in terms of educational materials, workforce and electricity.
“If the school has no major problems, it won’t be given a budget,” said Jeruta.
Most of the schools it has prioritized are those in the small islands of Cebu and Bohol.
Jeruta explained that in their budget chart, 90 percent of the funds go to personal services such as salaries of teachers and non-teaching staff. Seven percent is for electricity and other learning resource materials, and three percent is for capital outlay.