The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday said it is strengthening foundational learning and improving the delivery of teaching and assessment in schools, stressing that learner participation is helping anchor education reforms on real classroom experience.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the department’s reform agenda is becoming increasingly learner-centered, particularly in the early grades where learning foundations are formed.

“We will have universal feeding for all public schools in the Philippines for kindergarten and grade 1, all for 180 days for the full school cycle. For the first time in Philippine history. And the budget is now almost 10 times more,” Angara said during the International Day of Education celebration at Gen. Pio del Pilar National High School in Makati City.

Angara said the expansion of the School-Based Feeding Program reflects DepEd’s renewed focus on foundational learning and learner readiness.

“Kung titignan natin yung mga bansa na maunlad sa edukasyon, nakatutok po sila doon sa pundasyon. ‘Pag mahina ang pundasyon, mahina din ang itatayong gusali o itatayong halili. So definitely, and it doesn't just involve what we teach in the classroom. It involves what we do at home. How we bring up our children,” Angara said.

The education chief also urged schools and teachers to maximize the use of digital and instructional tools made available by the agency, including Khan Academy Philippines, Canva, Google, and Microsoft.

“So by all means, let's make use of the tools being made available to you by the Department to maximize our students' learning. We really want to make things more fun, more engaging. Because we realize this is a system that we all co-create together. And it's for the benefit of everyone,” Angara added.

Education partners likewise underscored the role of young people as active contributors to education reform.

“As lifelong learners, volunteers, peer educators, innovators, advocates, and future leaders, youth are not just participants in education. They are its driving force,” said Ivan Anthony Henares, secretary general of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines.

UNICEF Philippines Country Representative Kyungsun Kim said learner participation helps ensure the relevance of education reforms.

“Your voice, your creativity, your courage, and your power to help shape the future of education in the Philippines and the future of the country,” Kim said.