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COTABATO CITY — The Committee on Finance, Budget and Management of the Bangsamoro Parliament has approved the proposed budget of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) for the Fiscal Year 2025, from Php32.14 billion to Php32.70 billion.
This budget includes an additional Php230 million to support the ministry’s other educational initiatives.
The bulk of the budget will be allocated to enhance the quality of basic, madaris, higher, and technical education programs across the region. This includes funding for teachers, especially in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language (ISAL), curriculum development, infrastructure improvements, and the expansion of access to scholarships and educational resources. The ministry also aims to boost technical and vocational education training (TVET) programs.
Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal also assured the MBHTE’s commitment to improving the quality of education for students, ensuring that their needs are met, and prioritizing key factors for successful education.
The MBHTE is one of the 15 primary ministries of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
While the proposed budget has received initial approval, further scrutiny will be conducted during the plenary deliberations to ensure the effective and efficient use of these funds. The additional funds aim to enhance educational programs, infrastructure, and services across various sectors under the MBHTE’s jurisdiction.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction. With the recent plebiscite at SGA, the BARMM now has eight new municipalities as residents voted “Yes”.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities (plus eight newly established under the SGA: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)