With the limited budget that has being allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd) yearly, Education Secretary Armin Luistro is determined to use creative means to make ends meet and address the backlogs in the education system in two years as ordered by President Noynoy Aquino.

Based on the initial assessment of DepEd, Luistro said that the backlog problems in the current system include classroom shortages, lack of teachers, producing quality textbooks, improving school furniture such as desks and building sanitary facilities such as toilets.

For 2010, the budget for DepEd is P175 billion but for next year, Luistro is requesting for a P380-billion allocation from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to address backlogs. But in case the request will not be granted, Luistro said DepEd “has to be creative and resourceful” in addressing these problems.

“We really need to be more creative than just asking for a bigger slice of budget,” he said. One of the more urgent issues to be addressed are the shortage in classroom said Luistro said. (Ina Hernando-Malipot)