Friday, March 29, 2024

Gatchalian Seeks More Funds For SPED

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Gatchalian Seeks More Funds For SPED

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Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday urged his colleagues to increase the Department of Education’s (DepEd) capital outlay from PHP96 million to PHP160 million which will pave the way for better facilities for children with learning disabilities.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said the budget increase would convert 16 Special Education (SPED) centers nationwide into an Inclusive Learning Resource Center (ILRC) for every region.

The conversion for each center would entail a minimum funding requirement between PHP8 million to PHP10 million.

“This representation sincerely recommends that we increase the budget of capital outlay from PHP96 million to PHP160 million just to convert SPED centers in all regions, and we will have one model ILRC per region,” the senator during the floor deliberation of the proposed 2023 budget of DepEd.

He said he would submit his proposals on potential funding sources to the Senate Committee on Finance.

Gatchalian urged the Senate to ensure funds for SPED to keep up with Republic Act No. 11650 or “Instituting a Policy of Inclusion and Services for Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education Act,” which he sponsored during the 18th Congress.

The law mandates DepEd and local government units to jointly establish and maintain at least one ILRC in all cities and municipalities.

ILRCs are expected to deliver free support services to learners with disabilities, including language and speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical and physiotherapy, provision of qualified sign language interpreters, and other similar services, aids, and actions that facilitate the learning process.

Gatchalian has been emphasizing the need to ensure support for learners with disabilities as they were among the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

DepEd data shows that as of March 14, 2022, there were 126,598 learners with disabilities enrolled in DepEd schools for School Year (SY) 2021-2022, 65 percent lower than the 360,879 recorded for SY 2019-2020. (PNA)

 

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