Schools in remote areas to get government priority

Schools in remote areas to get government priority

Education Secretary Leonor Briones vowed to prioritize the development of the so-called “last mile” schools, or those that fail to meet the basic criteria set for learning institutions in the Philippines.

She directed various offices in the agency to identify which schools fall under this category to enable the DepEd to implement programs that would address their needs.

Based on the memorandum, “last mile” schools are those that have less than four classrooms, with makeshift or non-standard rooms, without electricity, have not been allocated funds for repairs or construction for the last four years and have travel distance of more than one hour from the town center.

They also include those that have multigrade classes or rooms, with less than five teachers, have a student population of less than 100 and with more than 75 percent of learners coming from indigenous peoples’ groups.