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EDUCATIONAL FUND
UPDATES --- Municipal Treasurer’s League (MUNTREAL)
of Maguindanao president Engr. TokanBrahim (seated 1st from left, second row)
presided over the regular monthly meeting last April 25 with fellow municipal
treasures held at the MUNTREAL office along Sinsuat Avenue in Cotabato City. (ANNE ACOSTA – MINDANAO EXPOSE’)
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COTABATO CITY ---- The Municipal Treasurer’s League (MUNTREAL) of
Maguindanao is slated to implement the revised guidelines on the use of the
Special Education Fund(SEF) which provides the source of fundingas
supplementary annual budget for the operation and maintenance of public schools
within the municipalities.
Engr. TokanBrahim, president of MUNTREAL,
said the formulation, approval, and utilization of the SEF budget are the responsibilities
of the individual Local School Board (LSB).
“Previous circulars
were jointly issued by the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Budget
and Management (DBM), and Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG) providing the general guidelines on the use of the SEF in the implementation
of Republic Act 7160. Given the observed practices in the utilization of the
SEF and current developments in the basic education sub-sector, particularly
the K to 12 and early childhood care and development (ECCD) programs, there is
need to reiterate and refocus the policies on the use of the SEF to better
support the supplementary budgetary needs of schoolsand learning centers,”
Brahim said.
Brahim said the
purpose of the guideline is to update the policies and guidelines contained in
previous JCs of the DepEd, DBM, and DILG (JC No. 1 s. 1998, JC No. 1-A s. 2000,
JC No. 1-B s. 2001 and JC No. 4 s. 2001) on the use and purpose of the SEF as
provided under R.A..7160 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) and to
ensure a more strategic and efficient utilization of resources for priority
programs and projects which would complement, as well as reinforce, the
budgeting priorities at the different levels of decision-making.
The SEF shall be
allocated to the following: operation and maintenance of public schools; construction
and repair of school building; facilities and equipment; educational research;
purchase of books and periodicals; and sports development.
Further, Brahim stressed that it also
provides theSchool Board the budget to give priority to the following: construction,
repair and maintenance of school buildings and other facilities of public
elementary and security schools; establishment and maintenance of extension
classes where necessary; and sports activities at the division, district,
municipal, and barangay levels.
“The SEF could be
utilized as payment of compensation or allowances of teachers locally-hired in
elementary and secondary schools identified to have shortages per the teacher
deployment analysis of the DepEd, but the rates shall be determined by the LSB
based on funds available, but not to exceed the salary schedule being
implemented by the local government unit concerned,” Brahim said.
In addition, he
said it could also be used as payment of salaries/wages of utility workers and
security guards hired by public elementary and secondary schools which have not
been provided such position in the DepEd budget as well as in the payment of
expenses pertaining to the operation of schools, which may include utilities
and communication expenses.
However, acquisition of laboratory, technical
and similar apparatus, and information technology equipment and corollary
supporting services (e.g. internet connection, maintenance, etc.), is subject
to the prevailing requirements and specifications set by the DepEd.
“Purchase of library books and periodicals
for the libraries of the different elementary and secondary schools in the
municipality and purchase of instructional materials, workbooks and textbooks
needed by public elementary and secondary schools is subject to the prevailing
policies and guidelines of the DepEd,” he said.
For the planning
and budgeting for the SEF, the LSB shall formulate a three-year program
indicating strategic prioritization policies in the allocation of the SEF to
schools, taking into consideration equitable sharing, priority needs and such
factors as enrollment ratio, distance of the schools, performance, drop-out
rate and location of schools, as well as the goals and objectives of the LGU’s
Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), and the expenditures, programs, projects
and activities in the LGU’s Local Development Investment Program (LDIP) prior
to the formulation and preparation of its Annual Budget for the incoming year.
It is understood
that the DepEd representative to the LSB shall be responsible for coordinating
municipal/city school plans with that of the province and ensuring that the
School Improvement Plan (SIP) and the Division Education Development Plan (DEDP)
are formulated collaboratively with the stakeholders in the community.
“The LSB in each
municipality shall be responsible for the preparation and approval of the
annual budgetary requirements of the public schools based on the DepEd-approved
SIP and DEDP in the implementation of ECCD Program, kindergarten, elementary and
secondary, formal and non-formal education programs, chargeable to their
respective SEFs,” Brahim said.(GILMHAR
A. LAO & ANNE ACOSTA– MINDANAO EXPOSE’)
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