The Philippine Educators Alliance for Community Empowerment (PEACE) Party-list hailed the Department of Education’s plan to construct close to 600 classrooms in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) in the country.
“Access to schools remains a problem for many children living in GIDA, so this news that the DepEd continues to try to fill the gap is a welcome development,” PEACE PL president and first nominee Marie Paz T. Abante said.
The long-time educator said there had been fears the LMS would be scrapped after P5 billion of its P6.5-billion budget for 2020 had been reallocated to the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
The DepEd recently announced that it is eyeing the construction of 599 classrooms under its Last Mile Schools program.
Abante also said that the move to build more classrooms under the LMS is a reassurance that “the program is not to be scrapped soon.”
The long-time educator said there had been fears the LMS would be scrapped after P5 billion of its P6.5-billion budget for 2020 had been reallocated to the Bayanihan to Heal as One-Act.
“Marami ang nangamba na baka matigil na ang Last Mile Schools program, na tunay na nakapanghihinayang dahil sa napakaganda nitong layunin na pataasin ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa mga GIDA,” said Abante.
“Now, with this announcement that more Last Mile Schools classrooms will be built, the DepEd is reassuring us that those who are far from the center are not subject to an ‘out of sight, out of mind” mentality, but that instead, the government is doing its best to reach them,” she added.
The LMS program was launched in 2019 in a bid to bridge the gap in the resources and facilities of schools located in GIDA.
The DepEd recently announced that it is eyeing the construction of 599 classrooms under its Last Mile Schools program.
The education department defines last-mile schools as “those with less than four classrooms, usually makeshift and nonstandard ones; no electricity; no funds for repairs or new construction projects in the last four years; and a travel distance of more than one hour away from the center, accessible only through difficult terrain. Likewise, these are schools with multi-grade classes, with less than five teachers, and a population of less than 100 learners, more than 75% of whom are indigenous peoples (IP).”
Completed school facilities under the program should be equipped with solar panels, school furniture, provision for a water system, and other site improvements.
