SUCs to get a whopping 44% increase in draft 2013 budget

If the proposed 2013 budget is passed, State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) are set to have a significant increase in allotment next year, especially for infrastructure and maintenance expenses.   The Department of Budget and Management said in a statement Wednesday the 2013 SUCs budget will be increased to P37.1 billion, up by P11.3 billion from P25.8 billion this year.      The biggest increase in the budget for SUCs is allocated for capital outlay – pegged at P3.36 billion and up by 1,671.1 percent or 16 times from 2012’s P190 million. Capital outlay (CO) will take care of SUCs’ infrastructure needs. See also Lawmakers, groups want-suc-budget-restored   “The Aquino administration recognizes the severe need for capital outlay support in SUCs, which will receive their CO allocations directly,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.   “This will jumpstart developments in infrastructure and enable SUCs to acquire laboratory equipment and other necessary facilities to boost their competitiveness and academic capacities,” said the Budget chief, who was Education Secretary in the Arroyo administration.   The budget for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), meanwhile, increased by 114.2 percent to P6.4 billion from 2012’s P3 billion. MOOE covers institutional improvements, research initiatives, extension services, and the quality of instruction across all SUCs.   “In preparing the SUC budget for 2013, we were instructed by President Aquino to concretize the roadmap for higher education as part of this Administration’s reform agenda,” Abad said. “This way, the delivery of higher education will be more efficient and accessible.”   “Following the roadmap will also allow SUCs to develop their students’ capabilities so they’re well-prepared to join the work force,” he added.   SUCs have 40% of total college enrolment   The country has 110 SUCs, which have 424 satellite campuses. According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), of the estimated 2.7 million total college enrolment in school year 2012-2013 about 1.08 million or 40 percent are in SUCs.   Regions with the highest number of SUC campuses are the Central Visayas (65), the Calabarzon (59), Western Mindanao (49), the Mimaropa (47) and Central Luzon (47), CHED data show.   In the last budget cycle that had the current 2012 national budget as final output, some SUC students’ groups and their schools’ administration officials protested and objected to the disapproval of budget proposals the SUC submitted to the CHED and DBM.   They alleged that the Aquino administration slashed the aggregate budget and gave the education sector low priority in the national agenda.   But the DBM pointed out that the SUCs got a 10 percent increase to about P26 billion plus some P681 million in scholarships and student aid from the CHED.  — Gian Geronimo/VS/ELR, GMA News