The 32,000-strong Department of Education National Employees’ Union has pledged to fully support the education department’s flagship program. #LastMileSchoolsProgram

Some DepEd union members in some remotest areas can help teachers reach children and youth who are not in school. (DepEd)

A group of non-teaching personnel has vowed to assist the Department of Education (DepEd) on the implementation of the Last Mile Schools Program, which aims to address the gaps in resources and facilities of schools that are located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged and conflict-affected areas.

The 32,000-strong Department of Education National Employees’ Union (DepEd-NEU) has pledged to fully support the education department’s flagship program, saying such initiative is very important as more children and out-of-school youth in the far-flung areas can be reached through education.

“Mismong DepEd na ang lumalapit doon. Kung ano mang pangangailangan ng mga remotest areas schools mabibigyan diin at pansin ng ating Department. So, we support that and the Union is really happy to support as a partner of the management,” Atty. Domingo Alidon, DepEd-NEU president, said

Alidon said his group will help DepEd monitor on the status of this project.

“This is actually on the go and the stakeholders. in so far already existing project is concerned. will monitor on the activities of these different programs and projects of the (DepEd) management. And by monitoring we can check what are the status in so far as the implementation of this Last Mile Schools is concerned,” he said.

“These are already actually funded by the government, so the Union can play their role in checking if they are being implemented or not. Maybe remind the (DepEd) management on what are the challenges that confront us, and then recommend solutions if ever,” Alidon added.

Aside from monitoring the status of the project, Alidon also said that they have some members in some remotest areas who can help our teachers to reach those children and youth who are not in school.

“Double efforts yan ng stakeholders to really locate them and to get status and the data. That’s the first thing that they should do,” Alidon said.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones has said that while her agency is aggressively building schools and classrooms, and providing them with furniture and equipment, there are still schools that have not met the allocation criteria for various education inputs.

Briones said she’s prioritizing the Last Mile Program to reach out to all the children in all parts of the country so that no one will be left behind

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. Likewise, these are schools with multi-grade classes, with less than five teachers, and a population of less than 100 learners of whom more than 75 percent are indigenous peoples.

As of date, around 7,144 schools across the country have been identified as needing immediate support.

“It’s a two-year program. We will be concentrating on 2020 and 2021 and the two-year program will focus first on facilities, then on infrastructure. Itatayo muna namin iyong eskwelahan, after one year, papasok iyong content—furniture, textbooks, computers, electricity, and so on,” Undersecretary for Administration Alain del Pascua explained.