COVID-19 has made the education department allocate P27 billion for laptops, P700 million for internet connectivity and P9 billion for modules.
This is amidst the recession the country is facing because of the pandemic. Millions are out of work and displaced in the business sector because of the economic setback.
Private schools and universities are on the brink of collapse. More business firms are shutting down. The government is having difficulty finding money to support the most affected families. In these most uncertain times, all state agencies should reduce fiscal expenditures and save to help the government and the economy survive.
In these difficult times, DepEd needs to review how practical and feasible is its alternative program to continue basic education.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said, “While the government is borrowing more than usual this year in order to fund health care, social protection and other essential programs while our revenues are down, we have to be careful about spending too much above our means.”
It is a basic principle in public administration that government resources and finances should be managed with prudence and austerity with or without crisis.