The Cebu Provincial Capitol. CDN Digital File photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The allocation for school supplies to be distributed to Cebu province’s over 450,000 learners make-up the biggest chunk of the Special Education Fund (SEF) that the Provincial School Board (PSB) has passed for the upcoming school year.
The school supplies, which will be distributed to students from kindergarten up to the secondary levels, cover P69.2 million of the total P125,044,530 projected expenditure for 2020.
For kindergarten, the PSB allocated P3,513,000 for the purchase of P100-school supply kits consisting of two pencils, one box of crayons, and three notebooks for some 35,130 pupils.
The plastic envelopes that will be given to these pupils budgeted P526,950 or P15 each.
The PSB also budgeted P25,642,500 for the school supply kits of 256,425 elementary pupils. The P100-kits will consist of two ball pens, one 1/2 size pad paper, and five notebooks.
The kits for the elementary pupils also come with a plastic envelope with a handle and the provincial logo worth P50 each or a total of P12,821,250.
For the secondary school level students, P16,190,200 has been allocated for the kits of 161,902 students. The kits worth P100 will consist of two ball pens, one pad of intermediate paper, and five notebooks.
The school supplies for the secondary school students will also come with a plastic expanding envelope with a handle and the province’s logo which was budgeted P10,523,630 or P65 each.
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The Capitol-sponsored school supplies were part of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s projects during her earlier stint as governor. During her come-back at the province’s highest seat in 2019, she said the school supplies are among the projects she eyes to revive along with Suroy-Suroy Sugbo and Pasigarbo sa Sugbo.
Provincial Board Member Christopher Barricuatro, who sits in the Provincial School Board, said in an interview that the school supplies would be delivered to the students since they would likely have modular learning at home because of the threat of the coronavirus disease.
The School Year 2020-2021 was supposed to kick-off last August 24 but was pushed back to October 5 following a directive from Malacañang.
Aside from the school supplies, the PSB also allocated P3,327,000 for the purchase of 1,109 Ultraviolet (UV) sterilization lamps as protective equipment for public schools in Cebu province.
The province has also set P24.5 million worth of funds for the establishment of handwashing areas in the schools, including the water system, and P21 million for the provision or repair of downspouts and water catchment facilities in the schools./dbs