DepEd gets P8.4-B grant from Australia

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) has received some P8.4 billion in grants from the Australian government for a six-year project aimed at further improving the country’s basic education system.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said the funding will be used to construct new educational facilities, train teachers, and develop teaching and learning materials to support the implementation of the K to 12 program.

He said the Philippine government would allot a counterpart fund in kind worth P1 billion.

The program, dubbed BEST or Basic Education Sector Transformation, will run for six years with focused intervention in Regions 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and the National Capital Region, Luistro said.

“BEST aims to improve equitable access to complete basic education and ensure its quality while building and sustaining an effective, transparent, and engaging governance of education,” he added.

“We thank the Australian government for their generosity. We will ensure that this intervention will go a long way toward making sure that we develop students who can realize their full potential and contribute meaningfully to building the nation,” Luistro said.

The DepEd started implementing the K to 12 program in school year 2012-2013 in selected public schools nationwide.

Under the K to 12 Basic Education Program law, children are required to enroll in kindergarten before they can begin six years of primary education.

Two years will be added to the four-year high school curriculum.

Senior high school (Grades 11 and 12) will be fully implemented in school year 2016-2017.

Luistro said the additional years would serve as a specialization period for senior high school students, whether in vocational skills, music, arts or sports. They will be prepared in middle-level skills development, entrepreneurship, employment and tertiary education.

Australia is the Philippines’ lead bilateral grant donor in basic education, contributing over $30 million annually.