Gov’t disburses P2.68B for vital K-12 infra work

The government recently released P2.68 billion to fund the repair and construction of school buildings, as well as water and sanitation facilities in public schools, Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said Monday.

The fund is meant to provide crucial infrastructure support for the Department of Education’s K-12 program, Abad said in a statement.

“Through this release, the DepEd can construct more buildings and facilities—or make the necessary repairs to these structures—thus enhancing the learning environment for our teachers and students,” he said.

The budget chief said that, of the total amount, P2.46 billion would be used for the construction, completion and repair of school buildings in areas now experiencing acute classroom shortage.

The fund, which is charged against the education department’s Basic Educational Facilities Fund under the 2012 budget, will be used to build water and sanitation facilities in public schools, as well as for the acquisition of school desks, furniture and fixtures for campuses.

“We’re committed to closing the resource supply gap in classroom and other basic educational facilities,” Abad said. “We also want to ensure that there are clean water and sanitation facilities in public schools, as it is part of the government’s strategy to improve the health of students.”

Also, P222.4 million is being provided for the second batch of the DepEd’s School Building Program (SBP), which involves the construction, completion and repair of elementary and secondary school buildings in various districts.

This amount is charged against this year’s budget for the SBP and is released to the Department of Public Works and Highways, which will administer the construction based on a list of school buildings and work program that the DepEd has drawn up.

“These projects will also help us to finally close the classroom gap at the end of 2013,” Abad said. “This could be fast-tracked by delegating construction programs to the DPWH, [allowing] the DepEd to focus on curriculum and [teaching].”