Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said the government should put in the necessary resources if the Department of Education (DepEd) is determined to continue the K to12 curriculum.
He stressed that Philippine education is in crisis and the government has to “fix it now,” otherwise “we’re in trouble in the next 15 years.”
“My point is, we have to decide If we are committed to K to 12,” Cayetano said, adding that the government “has the money” to address issues such as shortage of classrooms and other resources.
Cayetano also said that “the Philippines is not poor.”
“The Philippines just had difficulties, but we have the money,” he said.
He also said the timeline does not necessarily have to be immediate and can be for four years.
Cayetano said DepEd should come up with another curriculum to restore the length of school hours to eight hours.
The DepEd would receive P924.7 billion under the proposed 2024 national budget as the government focuses on subsidies, skills development, and improvement in learning facilities.
Budget Secretary Amenah said higher provisions for subsidies, facilities, learning materials, and skills training programs comprise the bulk of the 3.3-percent increase in the budget allocation for the education sector in the fiscal year 2024 National Expenditure Program.
The DBM recently transmitted the proposed budget to the House of Representatives for deliberations, following its approval by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“As mandated by the Constitution, education will remain our top priority with a total budget of P924.7 billion, equivalent to 16.0 percent of the FY 2024 NEP,” Pangandaman said.