DepEd lauds GBF's expanding role in teacher training
IN PHOTOS | Education Secretary Sonny Angara confers the DepEd Hero Award on the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) for its transformative investments in STEM education and teacher development during a ceremony in Makati City. The recognition highlights the foundation’s commitment to uplifting Filipino learners and educators through high-impact scholarship programs and professional training initiatives nationwide.
COURTESY: Department of Education
The Department of Education (DepEd) has conferred its DepEd Hero Award on the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF), highlighting the growing role of private organizations in delivering large-scale teacher training and STEM education support in public schools.
Among those cited were Chairman Lance Y. Gokongwei, President James L. Go, Trustee and Secretary Robina Y. Gokongwei-Pe, General Manager Lisa Y. Gokongwei-Cheng, Executive Director Grace R. Colet, and Head of Educator Programs Kristine Tinette T. De Asis.
“The DepEd Hero Award gives recognition to the people who really go out of their way and do extraordinary things to help our learners and our teachers, and advance the cause of education reform in our country,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said.
GBF has reported reaching more than 320,000 teachers through its educator programs, including webinars on reading and math remediation and Continuing Professional Development (CPD)-accredited training in partnership with the National Educators’ Academy of the Philippines (NEAP).
One learning series alone engaged over 210,000 teachers, according to the foundation.
Its ClassBuilder program, which provides lesson materials and coaching strategies, has been implemented in more than 5,000 schools and 45 divisions nationwide, covering about 41,000 teachers.
While DepEd has recognized these contributions as supportive of its reform agenda, the scale of private-led interventions highlights the continuing dependence on external partners for nationwide teacher training delivery—particularly in specialized areas such as STEM and learning remediation.
GBF General Manager Lisa Y. Gokongwei-Cheng said the foundation’s efforts are measured not only in reach but in classroom outcomes.
“These are the real impact of our shared work,” she said, citing improvements in teacher confidence and student engagement. “And none of this would be possible without DepEd’s leadership, guidance, and openness to collaboration.”
GBF has also supported over 3,500 scholars through its scholarship programs, which DepEd said help expand access to education-to-employment pathways.
The recognition comes as the education sector continues to rely on partnerships with private foundations and corporate groups to expand teacher training coverage and learning interventions, particularly in public schools facing large class sizes and resource limitations.