NAME OF PROJECT: Project UPLIFT

(UPgrading Last-Mile Schools through Innovations,

Facilities and Technologies)

PROPONENTS: Milger A. Baang

Eman A. Lachica
Flordeliz D. Laput

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The CoViD-19 pandemic has changed the educational landscape not only in the
Philippines, but also around the world, but despite the challenges, education must
continue; and educators are adjusting to the new normal of teaching, capitalizing on
various distance learning platforms.
In the early stages of the implementation of distance learning, various problems
were encountered by schools all around the Philippines. These concerns were
magnified, and in a way addressed, in urban areas since these schools have the means
to express their concerns to the Department of Education (DepEd) and other media.
What is left unchecked is the status of schools that are located in far-flung areas—the
so called “last-mile schools”. 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. Likewise, these are
schools with multi-grade classes, with less than five teachers, and a population of less
than 100 learners, more than 75% of whom are indigenous peoples (IP).
With the little attention that they had from the very beginning, it is of utmost
concern to help these last mile schools in the implementation of distance learning.
Hence, Project UPLIFT (Upgrading Last Mile Schools through Innovations, Facilities
and Technologies) is born.
This project aims to augment the few resources that are provided to the last mile
schools of the Province of Misamis Oriental, by providing them with a learning hub.
These learning hubs, which will utilize existing spaces and the brangays, will contain
equipment and facilities, such as computers, printers and portable radios. The hubs will
also be provided with hard copies of the Self-Learning Modules (SLMs) for all grade
levels, CDs and flash drives containing DepEd approved lessons, audio lesson
episodes and video lesson episodes for all grade levels.
To ensure that these equipment and facilities will be taken care of, the team will
conduct a training for the custodians of the hub on the use and care of gadgets, and the
teachers in those last mile schools will also be given a walkthrough of the contents of
the gadgets (audio and video lessons and e-books) that will be provided for the learners
—thus maximizing the use of outputs of the project.
Since the proponents of this project are all part of DepEd Misamis Oriental, it is
proposed that the project will cater to the twenty-four districts of the province. One
learning hub will be provided per district, and these hubs will be located at the last mile
schools of the districts. The care and maintenance of the learning hub and all its
facilities and equipment will be in cooperation with the barangay where the last mile
school is located. A memorandum of agreement will be signed by all parties involved to
ensure the proper use of the hubs as well as making sure that the learners who need
them the most will benefit from this project. A custodian will be identified for every
learning hub, and the team will constantly monitor the status of the equipment and
facilities.
This project is envisioned to reach out and close the gap between students in
geographically isolated areas and their counterparts in the urban areas. It aims to level
off the playing field for all students in the Province of Misamis Oriental, by providing
these last mile schools with unhampered and equal access to quality education.
Ultimately, Project UPLIFT aims to address the gaping holes in terms of
resources, facilities and teacher training of schools that are located in geographically
isolated and disadvantaged in the Province of Misamis Oriental. The proponents would
like to take care of the last, the least and the lost students, and make them feel that they
are not forgotten, and that education is for all.