DepEd’s Special Education Program to Receive P581M for 2023 Budget

The 2023 budget for the Department of Education (DepEd) allotted P581 million in funding its Special Education (SPED) program following the zero-budget issue under the National Expenditure Program submitted by the executive to Congress.

During the Senate plenary session on budget deliberations for DepEd, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian expressed his gratitude to the finance committee for allocating and increasing the budget for SPED that will cover the needs of learners with disabilities.

"Nevertheless, the ₱581M is a good number to maintain the operations of our special education or inclusive education program," he was quoted as saying in a report of CNN yesterday.

Senator Pia Cayetano, on the other hand, described the P581-million budget as a "good place to start."

About P96 million of the budget will be used to build SPED centers or inclusive learning resource centers (ILRC), to provide education for all learners, particularly those who are underprivileged and come from marginalized communities. It is estimated that a total of P60 million is still required to fund the construction of 16 ILRCs across the country.

The department will also increase its financial support for the Indigenous Peoples’ Education (IPEd) program allocation and will receive P154.4 million, INQUIRER.net reported today.

The overall proposed budget for DepEd and its affiliate agencies for 2023 is P678.1 billion.