(UPDATE) EDUCATION Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara has taken to social media to express his misgivings about the P12 billion that was slashed from the 2025 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd).
Both the Senate and House of Representatives had approved a P748.65-billion allocation for DepEd, but the Bicameral Conference Committee pared it down to P737.08 billion.
Despite the cut, DepEd is still the government agency with the biggest budget allocation.
Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara. PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTO
In separate posts on his X account Thursday, Angara said the budget cut “reverses a trend in recent years where Congress adds even more to the education budget” except during a year during the pandemic.
He said that out of the P12 billion, P10 billion was removed from the proposed computerization program, which could fund “thousands of computers/gadgets” for public school children.
“Infrastructure is important but so is investing in our people and human capital. The digital divide will widen,” Angara said.
In a subsequent Facebook post, Angara said that the budget for the computerization program could provide around 1.4 million learners with tablets at P7,000 per tablet.
“Infra(structure) and ayuda (aid) are important but talk about a missed opportunity,” Angara said.
House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said the reduction in the DepEd budget reflects the government’s “anti-education and anti-poor” policies.
“This budget cut is completely unacceptable and shows where this administration’s priorities truly lie. Instead of working towards the UN-recommended education budget of 6 percent of GDP, the Marcos Jr. administration is doing the opposite by slashing vital education funds,” Castro said.
She added that the P10 billion cutback in the digitization program will never resolve the learning crisis and is a big loss to the students who are “desperate” to catch up with the digital age.
Former ACT Teachers Party-list representative Antonio Tinio said the P12 billion could have provided thousands of students access to digital learning tools.
“We demand the immediate restoration of the P12 billion budget cut and call for a significant increase in education funding. Education is a right, not a privilege,” Tinio said.
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