An opposition lawmaker on Monday urged the Department of Education to release a full account of obligated funds under the Bayanihan 2 in light of the massive shortages or lack of laptops, internet load, modules and other supposed deliverables of the department.
At the same time, Deputy Minority Leader France Castro also asked the government to account for the funds intended to aid teachers and students amid the blended distance learning under the COVID-19 pandemic.
Castro also cited other provisions to support distance learning education, the teachers and students other laptops and interned load in DepEd and in other agencies under the Bayanihan 2 that needs to be accounted for.
“Bayanihan 2 also provided P3 billion to assist State Universities and
Colleges in the development of smart campuses thru investments in ICT infrastructure, acquisition of learning management systems, and other appropriate equipment, P300 million for subsidies and allowances of displaced teaching and non-teaching personnel in public and private basic up to tertiary education, P600 million for subsidies and allowances of qualified students and P4 billion for Digital education, IT, and Digital infrastructure and Alternative Learning Materials,” Castro stated.
Bayanihan 2 also provided mandated provisions that needs to be accounted for like a 1-time cash assistance to displaced education personnel, prioritized augmentation for School-Based Feeding Programs, digital education, digital infrastructure, support to Alternative Learning Materials, and printing and delivery of self-learning materials, provisions to access free healthy meals regardless of modality of learning under RA 1103, provision of loan assistance, subsidies, grants, etc to schools, teachers and students and realignment of unused balances for hiring of teacher-assistants and for the production or reproduction of modular learning materials.
“The funds for Bayanihan 2 lapsed last June 30, a thorough account of the obligated funds should be made available especially to our teachers who have yet to receive support for the blended distance learning program,” she stressed.
According to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the initial batches of laptops distributed were from DepEd’s 2020 computerization program, while none has been reported so far to come from the Bayanihan 2 provision.
“Classes for school year 2020-2021 will end this week, teachers had endured more than a year of under-supported, overworked, underpaid, and a failed blended distance learning program of the Duterte administration,” Castro said.