Construction of school buildings, classrooms  and the provision of  furniture is continually being addressed with or  without the Cyber Education Project squelching speculations that basic education resources will be neglected once CEP is in full swing.

          Budgetary  allocation, in fact, has steadily increased. For rehabilitation, DepEd’s earmarked budget has doubled  from P1  billion  in  2006  to P2 billion in 2007. Meanwhile, budget for the regular School Building Program, in partnership with DPWH, has significantly increased from P1 billion to P1.7 billion this year. The 2008 budget proposal has set aside P2 billion for the said program.

          Moreover, DepEd continues to exceed the 3,000 school building per year-target – proof of its continuing effort to meet the ideal 1:35 classroom-student ratio. In addition, budget allocation has increased from P1 billion in 2006 to P1.6 billion this year. DepEd plans to augment the budget proposal for 2008 to P3.7 billion.

          Meanwhile, the Secondary Education Development and Improvement Project (SEDIP) has set aside  34% of its budget for classroom construction. In addition, some  P214 million  have been allotted for the procurement of school furniture.

          These efforts speak of the department’s commitment to address the infrastructure needs of the public school system whether or not  Cyber Ed project pushes through.