The Department of Education (DepEd) continues to forge partnerships with various organizations, particularly in the private sector, to address challenges in education resources.

“In this digital age, getting enough resources to ensure a high-quality education for our children is a big problem,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a statement issued Thursday, March 10.

“This is why we need to foster more partnerships with private companies to close the gap,” Briones said. “We need more of these cooperative solutions,” she added.

Briones cited the collaboration of the agency and GMA Network in such partnership through the DepEd TV.

At the inaugural Marketing Excellence Awards (MEA) 2021 in the Philippines, DepEd TV on GMA bagged the Silver Award in Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category.

Briones said that the whole DepEd family is “honored and grateful” for its collaborative project with GMA Network.

With GMA’s nationwide reach, Briones said that this partnership has “realized our vision of delivering quality basic education anywhere in the country, by all means possible.”

The said category recognizes the best marketing program of an organization for a charity or cause, which should have benefited both parties and had a positive impact on society.

Last December 2020, DepEd sealed a partnership with GMA that paved the way for the free airing and access of DepEd TV episodes in the latter’s digital channel and platforms further strengthening the Television-Based Instruction as a learning modality.

Through DepEd TV on GMA, the Department reached millions of learners nationwide, who utilize the TV-based education set-up as one of its learning modalities.

Citing a Kantar report from Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC-13) last December 2021, DepEd TV reached around 18 million school-aged viewers aged two to 12 across the country since its launch in October 2020.

“This project captures the spirit of ‘Bayanihan’ and how communal effort transforms our nation,” Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said.

Pascua said that DepEd recognizes and salutes GMA Network for getting involved in the education sector. “Recognizing their impact on our initiatives, they aided us in responding to the needs and concerns of our learners,” he added.

Winners received national and international coverage across Marketing-Interactive’s platforms and were showcased at the virtual awarding ceremony on Jan. 28.

Based in Singapore, MEA is the premier platform for marketers to highlight their creative excellence, successful strategies, and effective delivery.

It is the flagship awards program of Marketing-Interactive that rewards and celebrates outstanding work across the marketing spectrum, from creative advertising, PR, and market research, among others.

DepEd TV is the official television-based instruction platform of the DepEd.

After more than a year of its broadcast, DepEd TV has received various international acknowledgments and awards, including the Grand Prize for Outstanding Thematic Presentation at the Signis Asia TV Conference, National Winner for Best Pre-school Program and Best Children’s Program in the Asian Creative Awards, and Policymaker EdTech Champion at the 10th mEducation Alliance Anniversary and Award Show.