The funding for basic education facilities, including the construction of more classrooms, secured a drastic increase following the Senate endorsement of P85.4 billion to help address the needs for basic facilities.
This amount, which represents a raise of 203%, is a ‘dramatic jump’ from the original allocation of P28 billion in the proposed 2026 budget, according to Education Secretary Sonny Angara.The secretary said this development will enable them to ‘broaden construction modality’ as part of the current administration’s education agenda.
The hike comes at a crucial time when teachers and other members of the education sector have been raising concerns about the 165,000-classroom backlog.
It also happens after the Senate initiated a bill that will allow non-government organizations and local government units to be tapped for classroom construction.
‘This is a clear message that the government is ready to bank its money for the youth. As long as there is enough funding and reforms, we can expedite the construction of more schools,’ Angara said in a statement.
The Senate endorsed the P85.4 billion funding for the basic education facilities for next year, which Angara said, will provide the Department of Education (DepEd) ‘more flexibility’ by utilizing other modes for the construction of classrooms.
These alternative modes include partnerships with the local governments, civil society organizations, private-public partnerships, and even ‘selective’ implementation with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Angara also noted that his former colleagues in the Senate ‘raised the urgency’ for the DepEd to confront the classroom gap, citing condemned rooms, damage caused by disasters, and yearly increases in enrollment.
The Senate committees on finance and basic education, headed by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian and Sen. Bam Aquino, both told the DepEd that it can now test which modality works best each year to deliver the ‘quickest and most cost-effective results.’
Of the increased budget, Angara said allocation for classroom construction, replacement, technical-vocational laboratories and water and sanitation facilities surged to P65.9 billion.
This will support the DepEd in building 24,527 new classrooms, complete with school furniture, and will benefit around 1 million learners nationwide.
For repair and rehabilitation, the funding went up to P7.7 billion, which will restore a total of 11,886 classrooms.
The allocation for school furniture buffer or replacement also increased to P3.6 billion, which will provide 25,451 sets of furniture.
A funding of P1 billion was also secured for the DepEd’s Library Hubs program, which he said can deliver 72 hubs nationwide.
The medium-rise school buildings bagged a P2 billion budget that will support the completion of three multi-storey facilities designed for ‘dense and fast-growing school communities,’ Angara said.
The secretary hopes that the bicameral conference committee will allow the Senate’s ‘forward-looking investments’ for DepEd, especially as it will tackle the final budget that will include the country’s school infrastructure.
‘What the Senate approved gives us room to build faster, repair smarter and deliver better,’ Angara said.