EDCOM 2 suggests to DepEd to procure available textbooks rather than have new ones made

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to consider procuring textbooks that are readily available in the market rather than having publishers develop new ones.

Based on its Year One Report titled “Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education,” EDCOM 2 revealed that despite budget allocations, there have been delays in the procurement of textbooks in public schools that therefore “impact the availability of essential educational materials and hinder effective teaching and learning.”

“EDCOM’s analysis of the data submitted by the Bureau of Learning Resources shows that for Kinder to Grade 10, only 27 textbooks have been procured since 2012,” the report read.

"Specifically, since the introduction of the K to 12 curriculum, only Grades 5 and 6 textbooks have been successfully procured.”

The Committee, citing data in the Agency Budget Notes of the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department from Fiscal Year 2020-2024, said that P12.6 billion was allocated for textbooks and other instructional materials from 2018 to 2022.

However, only P4.5 billion (35.3%) of this budget was obligated, and P952 million (7.5%) was disbursed.

The Committee further noted that during the pandemic, DepEd “deprioritized” the printing of textbooks from FY 2020-2023 and instead focused on the provision of self-learning modules.

It stressed that these delays in the development and distribution of textbooks have been a “long-standing concern” in the basic education sector, dating back three decades ago.

“Three decades later, teachers still report that they are not receiving textbooks on time, resulting in students sharing or rotating books and teachers producing alternative learning materials for their students, sometimes even at their own expense,” the report said.

To solve these dilemmas, EDCOM 2 thus suggested for DepEd to instead procure textbooks that are already available in the market as the National Book Development Board (NBDB) revealed that DepEd gives them at least six months to develop a textbook.

Another issue stemming from this is that NBDB disclosed that the development of textbooks usually takes 18 months, thus these six months of “insufficient development time” would push publishers to submit “premade drafts with minor revisions to match the requirements set by DepEd.”

Publishers also lamented the steep evaluation fee of P25,000 per title, with a P150,000 cumulative fee for those submitting titles for Grades 1-6 for one subject “without guarantee that their manuscripts will be selected for publication.”

The Committee said DepEd has already submitted a letter to the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) regarding their recommendation and said they are willing to coordinate with the agency to explore other possible options.

EDCOM 2 also called on DepEd to review its strategy for ensuring timely textbook procurement for the upcoming school year.

The phased implementation of the new K-10 curriculum among learners in Kinder, Grade 1, Grade 4, and Grade 7 will begin in School Year 2024-2025.

“Given that the estimated duration of the procurement process under the new policy takes a year, DepEd must be prepared to provide alternative teaching and learning resources if it intends to roll out the MATATAG curriculum in SY 2024–2025,” the report added. —KG, GMA Integrated News