PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION

MARILOU C. LARIN

Education stakeholders have been reminded to give importance to “Education Futures”.

Because knowledge will have changes, everything taught to learners will eventually become irrelevant. Teachers have to change along without learners, and they will not be only teaching, but they will also be learning along with the st udent s.

The Department established the Education Futures Unit to strategically evaluate and integrate trends and advancements in learning and teaching processes. This goal of the unit is to also help the youth gain skills that are relevant in the future.

The Department noted that it is important to believe in the capabilities of the youth, believing in the wisdom, strength, knowledge, and in the capacities of young learners.

While the DepEd will surely face more hardships and challenges, education will never stop. The DepEd had been challenged by the pandemic, but education still continued.

Meanwhile, the Department also formed a Public Financial Management (PFM) reform program and installed the Education Program Management Office

The DepEd is the only agency to create its first-ever financial management reform program and a program management office.

The Finance Service Strand of the Department has also been able to decentralize fund management, while there was uninterrupted processing of salaries, allowances, and benefits amid lockdowns, provided incentives, and the increased Budget Utilization Rate from 88% in 2016 to 96% in 2020. The Department also stressed the approval for the increased capitalization threshold of the Maintenance and Other Operation Expenses (MOOE) and Capital Outlay from Php 15,000 to Php 50,000 not only for DepEd but also for the whole government including Local Government Units (LGUs). With COA Circular No. 2022-004, field offices and schools are allowed more flexibility to procure equipment and other items essential in daily operations and the conduct of classes not exceeding Php 50,000. A new Provident Fund (PF) should be established by DepEd to cater to personal contributions and grant various employee-member benefits.

The DepEd is determined to implement necessary financial policies to help all DepEd personnel fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

-oOoThe author is Teacher III at San Isidro Elementary School