Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said the DepEd has allotted a separate budget for last mile schools in the provinces, apart from the budget for construction of classrooms in regular schools.
The Department of Education will prioritize the hiring of additional teachers and the construction of more classrooms in last mile schools or LMS, Vice President and concurrent DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte said.
LMS are schools located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
Duterte said the DepEd has allotted a separate budget for LMS in the provinces, apart from the budget for construction of classrooms in regular schools.
“We have separate infrastructure budget for the Last Mile Schools in the provinces because these are the schools that we want to prioritize, especially when it comes to classroom construction,” Duterte said in Filipino.
“It is very important for us to cater to and immediately address the needs of our geographically isolated and disadvantaged schools,” she added.
The DepEd defines LMS as schools with less than four classrooms, usually makeshift; with no electricity and are usually located more than an hour away from the town centers, accessible through difficult terrains.
LMS also include schools located in mountain villages and isolated islands, among others.
Duterte said that because of the DepEd’s “limited budget,” it will prioritize the construction of classrooms and the hiring of teaching personnel in the LMS to be followed by the provision of additional facilities in these schools, such as libraries, computer laboratories and canteens.
Duterte, accompanied by presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos, on Thursday, Nov. 23, led the simultaneous inauguration of newly-constructed LMS classroom buildings in the Bicol region and the island of Leyte.
Duterte personally turned over LMS classroom buildings to Dororian National High School in Gigmoto, Catanduanes in the morning and Cristo Elementary School in Donsol, Sorsogon in the afternoon.Aside from the two schools, seven more LMS buildings were inaugurated, including at Bato Rural Development High School inCatanduanes; San Miguelay Elementary School and Himokilan Elementary School in Leyte; and Amaga Elementary School, Cat-iwing Multi-Grade Elementary School, Bulawan Primary School and Carnaga Elementary School in Southern Leyte.
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