MANILA — Senator Francis Pangilinan has filed Senate Bill No. 1842, or the Last Mile Schools Act, seeking to institutionalize last-mile schools in the public basic education system by mandating the Department of Education (DepEd) to adopt policies responsive to their unique operational realities.

“It directs the development of tailored approaches to learning delivery, teacher deployment, infrastructure standards, learner support services, and performance monitoring,” the bill’s explanatory note read.

The measure also pushes the DepEd to provide necessary support, including infrastructure, to ensure that education remains accessible to learners in far-flung areas.

Pangilinan proposed that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) construct and improve access roads leading to last-mile schools across the country to ensure safer, faster, and more reliable access to education for students and teachers in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

The bill also promotes the involvement of the Department of Energy and the National Electrification Administration in installing electricity, as well as the Department of Information and Communications Technology in implementing communications and information technology systems, among other initiatives.

Under the proposed measure, a last-mile school shall be considered as such if it has fewer than four classrooms, has makeshift or non-standard rooms, lacks or has irregular electricity, and has not received funds for new construction projects in the last four years.

It must also be located at least one hour from the center of a city or municipality, or be situated in difficult terrain, to be accessible to learners.

The bill also provides for the creation of tailored programs for learners in these schools, including learning delivery and intervention mechanisms, school staffing standards, learning tools and equipment, learner support services, and relevant pre-service teacher education curriculum and in-service training.

“Education should be within reach,” Pangilinan said. “It is our responsibility, our obligation as lawmakers, to ensure that there are learning opportunities and established education systems for every Filipino learner, regardless of where they live.”

“By doing so, we are investing not only in infrastructure but in the future of our children,” he added.