For decades, the Department of Education (DepEd) has struggled with one persistent problem: data.

Fragmented records, manual reporting, and inconsistent information have slowed decision-making in the country’s largest bureaucracy.

Less than a year after launching its Education Center for Artificial Intelligence Research (ECAIR), DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara announced that the agency is finally beginning to turn data into a valuable asset.

At ECAIR’s year-end gathering on December 18, Angara reflected on how artificial intelligence—often viewed with skepticism in public education—has quietly begun to change how DepEd plans, allocates resources, and evaluates performance.

“ECAIR is making DepEd a very efficient, very data-driven organization,” Angara said, describing the initiative as long overdue for an agency that manages millions of learners, teachers, and classrooms nationwide.

While improvements are already visible, he stressed that the reform journey is far from finished.

"If you look at the quality of data a year ago versus now, there is marked improvement," Angara said. "But there is still a long way to go," he added.

Rather than rushing into full-scale AI adoption, DepEd took a deliberate route.

ECAIR was designed not as a showcase of emerging technology, but as a problem-solving unit meant to fix long-standing system gaps.

Angara noted that DepEd is among the first government agencies to establish a dedicated AI research center—an uncommon move in a sector often constrained by legacy systems and manual processes.

One of ECAIR’s earliest interventions focused on school leadership.

Project DUNONG, which uses data analytics to consolidate records and assess competency gaps, helped streamline the preparation and placement of school heads.

The result was faster, more transparent leadership selection.

In 2025 alone, 4,410 aspiring principals passed the National Qualifying Examination for School Heads, translating to an estimated P5 million in savings for the department.

For teachers, the most tangible change came through Project SIGLA.

By cleaning up inconsistencies in learner health and anthropometric data, DepEd reduced the time teachers spend on manual encoding—from nearly four hours per year to less than two hours.

While the number may seem modest, Angara said the cumulative impact across thousands of schools means more time spent teaching and less time buried in paperwork.

Another initiative, Project TALINO, tackled one of DepEd’s most visible challenges: infrastructure.

By improving real-time visibility of school facilities and operational needs, the system allows faster and more transparent allocation of resources—critical in a country where classroom shortages and maintenance backlogs remain pressing concerns.

Angara acknowledged that other education systems abroad adopted AI too quickly, only to face backlash over accountability and trust.

With additional funding expected under the proposed 2026 budget, DepEd noted that ECAIR’s next phase will focus on scaling projects that have already delivered results.

For Angara, the goal is clear: ensure that AI remains a behind-the-scenes tool—one that strengthens governance, sharpens decision-making, and ultimately supports teachers and learners, rather than replacing them.

As DepEd continues its slow but steady shift toward data-driven reform, Angara stressed that ECAIR’s early gains suggest that meaningful change in education may begin not in classrooms alone, but in how the system understands and uses its own data