The Senate is proposing a P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 which will put priority on health, education and social services.
Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, who chairs the Senate finance committee, said that the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) was increased upon the recommendation of Senators Pia Cayetano and Ralph Recto.
The P6.2-billion budget is set to prevent senior high school students studying in private schools using government vouchers from dropping out.
The said amount will also finance the completion of the equipment, facility and teaching needs of hard-to-reach “Last Mile Schools” and for the conservation of heritage buildings like the Gabaldon schools.
The Senate alloted additional funds for the Student Financial Assistance Program of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to P8.5-billion. The same amount is also added for next year’s implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, also known as the “free college law.”
Angara clarified that the Senate version of the budget bill increased to P116-million for the amount of research grants to be distributed across the state universities and colleges and the UP System.
The Senate also provided an additional P4-billion for the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for the building of digital classrooms, workforce, workplace and communities and the free Wi-Fi in public spaces.
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