The Department of Education (DepEd) assured that it will continue to support schools that are located in far-flung areas after its Last Mile Schools Program marked a milestone with the first-ever completed school in Eastern Visayas.
“This is only the first step to the many developments under the Public Schools of the Future framework,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.
DepEd unveiled its first-ever completed Last Mile School in Eastern Visayas during a turnover ceremony in Calbiga, Samar last month.
“We will continue to close the gap between the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas to their urban center counterparts in providing unhampered and equal access to education,” Briones added.
Meanwhile, DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del B. Pascua stressed that funding must be allocated to Last Mile Schools like Patong National High School (PNHS), which has classrooms and roofs made of sala-sala, bamboo, sawali, nipa, and pan-aw, and have unpaved flooring.
“Hindi lang tayo nagtatayo ng (We are not only building the) building kundi kinukompleto rin natin ang package (but we are also completing the package),” Pascua said.
Aside from the building, Pascua said that the school will also receive furniture, the system for solar power, and water which are the “essential elements of the last mile school.”
PNHS School Head Apolinario Nacario mentioned the program’s important contribution, especially to those who belong to low-income families.
Bonga National High School (BNHS) Principal Wilma Montejo also shared the status of the undergoing construction of one concrete school building with four classrooms to replace their six makeshift classrooms.
The DepEd field officers’ latest assessments revealed that the figure has risen to 9,225, which is currently equivalent to 19.4 percent of all public schools.
“’Yan ang dapat bigyan natin ng focus kung paano natin gagawing kasing ganda ang mga last mile schools na narito ng mga eskuwelahan sa siyudad (That's what we should focus on how we can make the last mile schools as good as the schools in the city),” he said. Pascua also expressed hope that the “next administration will continue” to give this kind of priority.
Led by Pascua, the Office of the Undersecretary for Administration visited Samar and Leyte from Feb. 23 to 25 to assess the completeness of newly-constructed and restored buildings, including those undergoing construction.