Marginalized learners will be hardest hit by budget cuts - Gatchalian

Senator Win Gatchalian has warned that marginalized learners will bear the brunt of the P8.4-billion budget cut to the Department of Education (DepEd) and its attached agencies as the government pools funds to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the affected programs support vulnerable learners, Gatchalian said the budget cuts would increase the number of dropouts.

Gatchalian estimates that 60,000 learners will lose their scholarship grants and subsidies because of the P1.4-billion cut to the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS VP). The SHS VP gives financial assistance to disadvantaged but qualified learners to study in private schools, state and local universities and colleges (SUCs and LUCs), and technical and vocational institutions. According to Gatchalian, the SHS VP could have been a helpful measure to help learners continue their studies while helping struggling private schools.

Other sources of the realigned funds include the P500-million budget for the school-based feeding program and the P107-million allocation for the Special Education Program for learners with disabilities. From the fiscal year 2019's continuing appropriations, P102-million from the Computerization Program, which could have been utilized for DepEd's Learning Continuity Plan (LCP), was also realigned.

"We're cutting where it's needed, and education is definitely one aspect that is an absolute necessity during these times because we're dealing with the marginalized sector. About 80 percent of (DepEd's) enrollment is in the marginalized sector so if we want to reach out to them, huwag dapat i-cut ang mga programs na ito," said Gatchalian in a Senate panel hearing that tackled the pandemic's impact to the basic education system.

"Nung nakita ko itong mga cuts, ang unang pumapasok sa isip ko yung mga marginalized dahil sila yung tatamaan dito kaagad at sila yung gusto nating matulungan," the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture added.

At the same hearing, DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla said the department already asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to spare the rest of the DepEd budget since current funds are now being re-programmed for the LCP's implementation.

For Gatchalian, education in the 'new normal' should be resilient and inclusive. In Senate Bill No. 1565 or the Education in the New Normal Act, which proposes a Safe Schools Reopening Plan in times of emergencies, Gatchalian bats for accessible and responsive services for marginalized learners, including those who are living with disabilities.

Senate Bill No. 1565 also seeks to accelerate DepEd's digital transformation to expedite the delivery of basic services and support distance learning.

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Libu-libong estudyante maaapektuhan ng budget cut sa edukasyon -- Gatchalian

Nagbabala si Senador Win Gatchalian na may anim na pung libong mga mag-aaral ang posibleng maapektuhan ng mahigit walong (8.4) bilyong pisong kaltas sa budget ng Department of Education o DepEd kasunod ng paglikom ng pamahalaan ng dagdag na pondo laban sa COVID-19.

Ang animnapung libong (60,000) mag-aaral ay mga benepisyaryo ng Senior High School Voucher Program o SHS VP na kinaltasan ng higit isang (1.4) bilyong pisong pondo.

Ang naturang pondo na kinaltas ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) sa DepEd ay maaaring makadagdag sa bilang ng mga dropout, ayon sa senador.

Nagbibigay ng tulong pinansyal ang SHS VP sa mga kwalipikado ngunit nangangailangang mga mag-aaral upang makapasok sila sa mga pribadong paaralan, state at local universities and colleges (SUCs at LUCs), at mga technical and vocational institutions. Dagdag ni Gatchalian, malaking tulong sana ang programa upang patuloy na makapag-aral ang mga kabataan habang nagbibigay tulong sa mga pribadong paaralang apektado ng pandemya.

Kabilang din sa mga apektadong programa ang school-based feeding program na kinaltasan ng kalahating (500 milyon) bilyong piso. Kinaltas din ang mahigit isang daang (107) milyong pondo para sa Special Education Program para sa mga kabataang may kapansanan. Dismayado rin ang senador sa pag-realign ng mahigit isang daang (102) milyong pondo para sa Computerization Program na maaari sanang magamit sa pagpapatupad ng Learning Continuity Plan o LCP lalo na ngayong darating na pasukan.

"Halos 80 porsiyento ng mga enrollees ng DepEd ay kabilang sa marginalized sector o yung mga estudyanteng higit na nangangailangan, kung kaya't lalong dapat hindi natin kaltasan ang budget ng mga importanteng programa ng DepEd para maipagpatuloy ng lahat ng mga estudyante ang kanilang pag-aaral," ani Gatchalian sa isang pagdinig na tumalakay sa naging epekto ng pandemya sa sistema ng edukasyon sa bansa.

"Nung nakita ko itong mga kaltas na ito, ang unang pumapasok sa isip ko yung mga marginalized dahil sila yung tatamaan dito kaagad at sila yung gusto nating matulungan," dagdag ng Chairman ng Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture.

Sa isang pagdinig sa Senado, ibinahagi ni DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla na sumulat na ang kagawaran sa DBM upang huwag nang galawin ang natitirang pondo ng DepEd. Ito ay dahil gagamitin na ang nalalabing pondo sa pagpapatupad ng LCP.

Ayon kay Gatchalian, kailangang patatagin ang sistema ng edukasyon sa pagpasok sa new normal. Sa kanyang panukalang Senate Bill No. 1565 o ang Education in the New Normal Act, iminungkahi ni Gatchalian ang pagkakaroon ng sapat at angkop na mga programa at serbisyo para sa mga nanangangailangang mag-aaral, kabilang ang mga mag-aaral na may kapansanan.

Isinusulong din ni Gatchalian sa panukalang batas ang digital transformation ng DepEd upang mapabilis ang pagbibigay ng serbisyo at mabigyang suporta ang pagpapatupad ng distance learning.

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