The Department of Education has been tasked to give a detailed breakdown of its distribution of laptops, tablets or other gadgets for use of public school students under the country’s online learning system amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senator Imee Marcos made the request on Thursday’s Senate budget hearing of the department, which will get P11.3 billion for its computerization program under the proposed 2022 budget, a big leap from its current budget of P5.6 billion.
“Everyone is so keen on the status of these programs on how the funds have been fully utilized, how do we justify the doubling in size of this amount considering the use for online learning,” Marcos said.
“Given all our school children are waiting with bated breath for laptops, digital access they so direly need, may we ask DepEd for better detailed brief of its computerization program and numbers as to how much is obligated disbursed, how many of tablet and laptop packages have been delivered to requisite schools. This way we can justify the requested doubling of budget for the computerization program,” she added.
DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua explained that at least 3,800 computer packages have been delivered in 2019, and 36,679 in 2020.
“For 2021 we have an original target of 37,221 packages but the revised target increased to 109,140 there’s no distribution yet because the bidding process has just been finished,” Pascua said.
Marcos questioned the big increase in the targets, stressing it might appear suspect to the public.
“The shifting might appear suspect to some, ano ba talaga ang ibibigay sa bata at guro? . . . Ang laki ng inyong sinasabing dagdag from 37,000 to 109,000, parang miracle of the loaves and fishes ito,” she said.
Pascua said the department will submit a detailed explanation to the committee on its computerization program.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones stressed the need for resources as the department shifts to digital materials from the use of printed ones.
“Last year, we have observed that of the various modalities of learning materials, printed is most expensive, and then we have series of floods and the last one was the most disastrous. And, if we continue depending on printed materials, we will be cutting our forests continually . . ,” she said.
DepED Director for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Service Abram Abanil assured that students up to Grade 12 will receive tablets and personal computers for the proposed budget next year.
He underscored that Grade 10 to Grade 12 students will be able to use the personal computers for their requirements in multimedia lessons including video editing.
Meanwhile, DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Anne Sevilla said that the computerization program also covered the subscription of the computers’ software.
The education sector and its attached agencies have presented a budget of P630.8-billion proposal for 2022 before the Senate Committee on Finance panel on Thursday.
Sevilla noted that the proposed budget for the education sector increased to 6.01 percent compared to the 2021 approved budget.
“We do understand that the limited resources for the whole country also requires prioritization of other programs of other agencies,” Sevilla added.
Early childhood care
Meanwhie, Senator Win Gatchalian sought an increase in the proposed budget for the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECDC) Council to support the early childhood systems in the education sector in 2022.
“Out of 108 NCDC established and expanded there are only 32 accomplished and the number of day care centers converted, the target is 110, but the accomplishment is zero,” Gatchalian said.
“I know this is probably [due to COVID-19] pandemic but I know [by] informing the management that this will be improved,” he added.
ECDC Director Teresita Inciong bared that the council had originally proposed a budget of P345.9 million.
The director, however, said that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) only provided P71.9 million.
Meanwhile, Inciong reported that a total of 822 NCDCs have been established nationwide as of June 2021.
She added that a total of 1,990 day care centers have been provided with financial assistance for conversion as of December 2019.—LDF, GMA News
Where are the gadgets? Imee asks as proposed DepEd computerization budget doubles
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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