MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) said on Wednesday that it is spending P977.48 million to further expand face-to-face classes nationwide, with elementary schools receiving the largest share.
The amount will fund the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) of DepEd's schools which will be gearing up for in-person classes this year.
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Elementary schools, which handle Kinder to Grade 6, will receive P531.36 million from the agency, according to data obtained by Philstar.com.
Junior high schools handling Grades 7 to 10 are set to receive P303.63 million, while senior high schools in charge of Grades 11 and 12 will get P142.49 million.
This year's MOOE will be distributed to schools through DepEd's regional offices subject to the implementation status of physical classes in their respective regions.
"We know that in the preparation for the face-to-face classes, [the schools] would require some adjustment in the classroom set-up and provision for some supplies that are not regularly included in their school budget. For this face to face activity, the regional offices will be given the amount as an additional operational budget," DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla told Philstar.com in a Viber call.
Among the regional offices, Region III (Central Luzon) will receive the highest budget of P80.08 million to be distributed across its elementary, and junior and senior high schools.
Some 4.24% or P41.48 million in the MOOE will be retained in the DepEd Central Office as a "contingency fund."
DepEd clarified that the MOOE must not be used for infrastructure projects and other capital outlay; and the hiring of contractual or casual employees whose benefits are charged against the line item, "personnel services allocations", among others.
A total of 4,315 public and private schools across the country already began the implementation of limited face-to-face classes, based on the submissions of DepEd regional offices today.
Earlier this year, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the agency's proposal to expand in-person classes, subject to safety measures of the Department of Health and approval of local government and parents.
DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones previously claimed that the conduct of pilot face-to-face classes from November 15 to Dec. 22, 2021, was "highly successful", after the department recorded a high level of attendance (83%) among students and reported that there was no confirmed COVID-19 cases in all participating schools.
These pilot in-person classes took place in 287 schools.