The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday partnered with the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to electrify last mile schools in the country.
In a speech, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara underscored the urgency to secure the partnership to ensure the learner’s welfare amid the Marcos administration’s electrification programs for off-grid schools.
“Now power is a basic (need), kapag wala tayong power, wala ho tayo. Kaya iyong binibigay natin ngayon hindi lang kuryente iyan, hindi lang ilaw, pag-asa ang ibinibigay natin sa ating kababayan (if we don’t have power, we are nothing. That’s why what we are granting today is not just electricity, not just light, but we are giving hope to our fellow countrymen),” he said ahead of the signing of memorandum of agreement (MOA) with NEA.
Angara earlier said there are around 1,500 public schools that still need access to electricity.
Most of these schools are in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and the provinces of North Cotabato, Palawan, Cebu, Zamboanga del Sur, and Negros Oriental.
Under the MOA, the DepEd will release funds from its electrification of off-grid schools project, while NEA will design solar power systems to be procured considering parameters and specifications needed for last mile schools.
The DepEd has around PHP1.295 billion in funds for the electrification project, particularly for the purchase and installation of solar power systems.
For his part, NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said electrifying off-grid public schools is a “minimum” requirement to ensure modernized quality education.
“The digital age has introduced modern ways of learning and teaching which are heavily reliant on access to electricity. Our schools ideally must have electricity for access to modern teaching tools like the internet,” he said in a separate speech.
“It is, however, obvious that not all public schools, particularly our last mile schools, have the same access to electricity. This is a disservice to our learners and hardworking teachers,” he added.
Energy Secretary Rafael Popo Lotilla, who witnessed the MOA signing, expressed full support for the administration’s interagency partnerships.
“The signing of this agreement is the very demonstration of our shared resolve to illuminate every classroom, help every teacher, and unlock the full potential of our learners,” he said.
Lotilla, however, said the country needs around PHP85 billion to PHP100 billion funds to achieve the administration’s electrification targets by 2028, benefitting not only the household levels but also schools.
“But as of this, the average budget has only been PHP2 (billion) to PHP3 billion a year, and therefore, we have a long way to go. So we are looking at ways and means to achieve the total electrification goal,” he said. (PNA)