The Department of Education in Bicol (DepEd-5) has started to distribute the PHP3.9 million worth of portable classroom learning packages it received from its development partners.

In an interview on Thursday, Mayflor Marie Jumamil, DepEd-5 information officer, said the “School in a Bag Kit” packages were given by the United States Agency for International Development Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines (USAID ABC+), Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) Smart Foundation and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) in November last year.

Jumamil said a total of 30 “last mile” schools were selected to receive a package, each set consisting of one laptop, 10 tablets (Samsung Galaxy tablets) containing smart apps, learning contents from ABC+, Kotobe app and one smart LTE pocket WiFi with PHP500 load.

“Last mile schools are those with less than four classrooms, usually makeshift and nonstandard ones, no electricity, no funds for repairs or new construction projects in the last four years, and a travel distance of more than one hour away from the center, accessible only through difficult terrain,” Jumamil said.

DepEd-5 turned over the first batch of the “School in a bag kit” Wednesday at the Magarao Central School to 15 recipient schools in the Division of Camarines Sur.

The recipient on Thursday was the Banuyo Elementary School in Pilar, Sorsogon province, while the Santo Domingo Central School in Santo Domingo, Albay province will also get its package on Friday.

Jumamil said the project aims to implement DepEd’s dynamic learning program in the schools and continuously push for joint efforts for inclusive education.

According to the PBSP, some of the benefits of the School in a Bag Project include the improvement of learners’ vocabulary, comprehension and other cognitive, affective and behavioral skills and the students’ increased motivation to learning. (PNA)