Christmas came early for students of Polo Elementary School in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental after receiving school supplies, school bags, and shoes from the Department of Education (DepEd) and its partners.

During her weeklong visit in the province, Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones spearheaded the turnover of school donations to learners of Polo ES from the Schools Division of Tanjay City.

“We should never forget that at the end of the day, our responsibility to our children is to provide them with quality education,” Briones said in a statement issued Thursday, Dec. 16.

“We should always give our children quality education because knowledge will help us practice different professions,” she added.

Briones underscored the importance of supporting children especially in their studies.

“So, we give our children the chance to develop themselves. There’s a lot of changes now, in technology, in teaching. This is a challenge to our teachers,” Briones said.

Moreover, Briones also noted that supporting children in their studies is more crucial at this point as more schools --- especially in Central Visayas --- will participate in the upcoming expansion of the limited face-to-face classes in the next few weeks.

After the official turnover ceremonies, Briones also visited the Tanjay South Central School and the Schools Division Office of Tanjay City to meet the public school teachers and non-teaching personnel from the SDO.

Briones explained that DepEd has been strengthening the implementation of the agency’s programs even before the pandemic.

This, she said, is to ensure that “quality education would be given to all learners” --- especially from the Last Mile Schools.

Briones said that DepEd is continuously crafting initiatives and policies that will sustain the mental health of the learners and teachers --- especially “since everyone is still experiencing the effects of the public health crisis.”