COA: DepEd wasted P608-M books due to K to 12

MANILA, Philippines - The 16,296,231 textbooks that the Department of Education (DepEd) bought for P608.7 million for its school year 2011-2012 textbook replenishment project under the old curriculum have become obsolete because of the shift to the K to 12 program.

In a 2013 report released yesterday, the Commission on Audit (COA) said government funds would be wasted because the textbooks were delivered only in school year 2012-2013 or at the onset of the implementation of the K to 12 program.

The COA blamed DepEd’s “lapses in planning and lack of foresight,” considering that as early as 2010 it was already gearing up towards the implementation of the new learning system.

“The delivered textbooks will eventually be regarded only as reference materials being no longer responsive to the enhanced K to 12 curriculum even though they were received by the schools for use for school year 2012-2013,” state auditors said.

“It can be said that the lack of preparedness of the agency in the implementation of K to 12 deprived the students their access to quality education,” state auditors stressed.

The COA called on DepEd to determine all officials who should be held accountable for the procurement of the textbooks.

Records show that the textbooks were mostly contracted in 2011 with delivery and distribution schedules from the last quarter of 2011 to the last quarter of 2012.

The deliveries covered mostly the textbook requirements of the grade levels that will be covered by the first and second year implementation of K to 12.

The COA identified some of the textbooks as English Expressway 1, English for You and Me 2, Elementary Mathematics 1, Mathematics for Everyday Use, Landas sa Wika at Pagbasa, Pagdiriwang ng Wikang Filipino 2, Matapat na Pilipino 1 and Katangiang Pilipino.

“The procurement done by DepEd can be considered as unnecessary expenses,” COA said.

“The procurement and delayed delivery or distribution of textbooks resulting in unnecessary expenses brought indiscriminate wastage of government funds that would have been used in reference with the effort of DepEd to ensure adequacy of the much needed learning resources in the implementation of K to 12,” it added.

In defense, DepEd management told COA that the textbooks in question are not obsolete since these were still responsive to many learning competencies under the K to 12 curriculum.

“Textbooks are never totally obsolete inasmuch as basic knowledge and information and skills being developed do not become obsolete. The scope and sequence and the strategies may change but the concepts and ideas remain the same and can be enriched with the latest trends and developments in the specific area,” the DepEd explained.