13 hours ago
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THE Department of Education (DepEd) is pushing for a stronger partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and local government units (LGUs) to construct more access roads to public schools, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara (right) confers with Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan (center) for the construction of more access roads to public schools, drawing from his recent visits to last mile schools in Mindanao. DEPED PHOTO
The initiative aligns with the commitment of President Ferdinand Marcos to improve access to essential services through strategic infrastructure and supports DepEd’s broader push to remove physical barriers to learning.
In a formal proposal to DPWH, DepEd recommended the inclusion of access roads to public schools in the department’s programming and investment plans, especially for newly constructed schools with no road access.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara underscored the importance of the initiative, drawing from his recent visits to last mile schools in Mindanao.
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“When we went to Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, we saw the reality. There are students who have to cross rivers and climb mountains just to get to school. We can’t just build classrooms if there’s no road to get there,” Angara said.
“If there’s a farm-to-market road, there should be a road-to-school too,” he added.
DepEd also pointed to DPWH’s successful infrastructure collaborations with other agencies, such as the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program or TRIP with the Department of Tourism, the Farm-to-Market Road Development Program or FMRDP with the Department of Agriculture and the Roads Leveraging Linkages of Industry and Trade or ROLL-IT with the Department of Trade and Industry as strong models of interagency coordination.
To support this push, DepEd is proposing a special provision under its FY 2026 Basic Education Facilities Fund that all newly constructed school buildings have corresponding access roads with the DPWH and LGUs to immediately include the construction of roads in cases where none is available.
DepEd said it looks forward to working closely with DPWH and LGUs to identify priority areas and ensure that no school and learner is left behind.
