DepEd receives more gadgets, school supplies for learners
The Department of Education received e-learning gadgets and school supplies for the benefit of Filipino learners - especially those enrolled in schools that are located in remote or far-flung areas.

(Photo from DepEd)
The donations were formally turned over to DepEd by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in a ceremony held in South Harbor, Port Area, Manila.
Attending virtually, Education Secretary Leonor Briones thanked the BOC for its “continued support” to DepEd’s programs for the Filipino youth.
Briones said that the donations will be a “great help” - especially the school supplies including backpacks, shoes, and books - to students belonging to Last Mile Schools.
Last Mile schools are those located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged and conflict-affected areas (GIDCA) without resources and facilities.
As defined by DepEd, Last Mile schools are “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.”
These are also the schools with multi-grade classes, with less than five teachers, and a population of less than 100 learners, wherein more than 75% are indigenous peoples (IP).
As of 2019, DepEd said around 7,144 schools across the country have been identified as needing immediate support.
Last January, DepEd also accepted e-learning gadget donations from the BOC. A total of 5,038 learning gadgets were donated to DepEd as part of the whole-of-government approach in assisting learners.
The said donation consisted of 198 pieces of laptops with specifications of 256 gigabytes (GB) to 1 terabyte (TB), and 4,840 total number of smartphones with 4GB to 8GB RAM and 128GB maximum storage - which will be donated to public schools.
Meanwhile, Briones noted that the donation previously received by DepEd from BOC is currently being distributed to the Filipino learners.
Briones noted that initiatives such as donation of gadgets are vital in the DepEd’s goal to improve digital education and reduce the dependency on the printed self-learning modules.
The DepEd, she added, is also looking forward to the continued assistance from BOC to further improve the country’s education system.