DepEd pilots AI tool to speed up nutrition screening, cut teacher workload

The Department of Education (DepEd) has begun piloting an artificial intelligence-powered tool aimed at reducing teachers’ administrative workload while improving the detection of malnutrition among students.

The system, called the System for Intelligent Growth and Learner Anthropometry (SIGLA), was developed by the Education Center for AI Research to streamline the process of measuring learners’ height and estimating Body Mass Index (BMI), a key indicator used in nutritional assessment.

“SIGLA represents a practical step toward reducing administrative burden among teachers while improving how we monitor learner well-being,” Education secretary Sonny Angara said, adding that the tool allows faster identification of students who may require nutrition support.

Using mobile phones and AI technologies such as computer vision, SIGLA allows teachers to capture images and generate nutritional classifications aligned with World Health Organization standards. 

EDCOM II earlier noted that teachers spend up to 55 percent of their time on non-teaching tasks, prompting calls for systems that can help reclaim instructional hours.

Dr. Erika Fille Legara, managing director and chief data and AI officer of ECAIR, said SIGLA is intended as a decision-support tool rather than a replacement for human assessment. 

“The system is designed with human reviewers consistently involved… allowing health and education personnel to prioritize appropriate follow-up,” she said.

The tool is currently being tested in select elementary schools in Metro Manila, where AI-assisted screening runs alongside traditional methods to validate accuracy and refine the system. 

DepEd said broader deployment will depend on validation results and operational readiness.