Marcos: Education sector gets lion share of proposed 2026 budget
In his budget message, President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. emphasized that this fulfills the Constitutional mandate to assign the highest budgetary priority to the education sector.
According to Marcos, this notably meets the recommended education spending of the UNESCO Education 2030 Framework for Action of allocating 4.0 to 6.0% of Gross Domestic Product to education as the Philippines adopts a whole-of-government approach in investing in our learners to include the education expenditures of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which may be sourced from their Annual Block Grant and own sources of revenues, and the Special Education Fund of local governments.
Marcos said the National Government education spending would also meet the UNESCO-recommended 15.0 to 20.0 percent of total public expenditure, in line with the administration's strong commitment to implementing a child-responsive budget and nurturing future-ready generations.
Allocations
The budget allocation of the sector includes the P928.5 billion for the Department of Education (DepEd), which is an 18.7% increase from the P782.2 billion allocation in the FY 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Meanwhile, P134.9 billion was allotted for State Universities and Colleges, a 6.1% increase from the P127.2 billion allocation in the FY 2025 GAA.
On the other hand, P33.9 billion was allocated for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and P20.2 billion was given to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Marcos also said his administration had increased the allocation for Teaching Allowance by 3.2% — from P9.9 billion under the FY 2025 GAA to P10.3 billion for FY 2026.
This seeks to meet the doubled allowance of P10,000 per public school teacher, effective School Year (SY) 2025-2026, according to the Chief Executive.
'Future-ready generations'
As stated in his message, Marcos believed that the country is on track with its Agenda for Prosperity and ''poised to be a leader among nations, especially in the Asia Pacific region.''
"However, while we have recovered from the pandemic, we recognize that there is still much to rebuild, and there is still much that can be achieved. We must not lose sight of our collective responsibility to ensure a brighter future for our people, especially the next generations,'' Marcos said.
''Hence, I urge the honorable members of Congress to swiftly enact this budget. Let us work together to realize the full potential of our nation, nurture future-ready generations and fulfill our dream of a Bagong Pilipinas,'' he added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
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