MORE SCHOOLS. Department of Education (DepEd) Laoag City officials, led by schools division superintendent Vilma Eda (left) and assistant schools division superintendent Arnel Bandiola (right), award a certificate of appreciation to the Philippine National Police on Thursday (June 23, 2022) for their support in the pursuit of quality learning in the "new normal." DepEd Laoag also assured learners to get better access to schools near them. (Photo by Leilanie G. Adriano) LAOAG CITY- The Department of Education (DepEd) in Laoag City announced Thursday that "school-less" barangays here will soon have their own schools. A "school-less" barangay is referred to as a village whose learners need to travel more than five kilometers to reach a school. In the case of Laoag, assistant schools division superintendent Arnel Bandiola said children in Barangay 55-B Salet, for example, need to travel outside the village to go to school. "To address this gap in educatio
SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union - The Department of Education Ilocos regional office (DepEd-1) has recommended the adoption of alternative delivery modes of learning and establishing new schools to address the concerns on schoolless barangays. In a statement issued on Wednesday, DepEd-1 said the alternative delivery modes include the strengthening of collaboration with the community officials, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders. DepEd-1's study, done via the Policy, Planning, and Research Division (PPRD), showed that out of 3,267 barangays in the four provinces, 989 barangays or 30.3 percent are without elementary school. "Consequently, the research also determined the status of the learners from schoolless barangays in terms of access, efficiency, and quality of education during the pre-pandemic school year 2019-2020," it said. The research revealed that learners outside the catchment area or within a two-kilometer radius and one-kilometer radius from a pub