Republika ng Pilipinas

Kagawaran ng Edukasyon
Tanggapan ng Pangalawang Kalihim

AIDE MEMOIRE
27 May 2020
Updated: 05 August 2021

ACCELERATING DEPED’S COMPUTERIZATION PROGRAM

IN VIEW OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

By its very name and as instituted by law, the Department of Education

(DepEd) is mandated to provide and give access to basic education to all learners
at ALL times.

For this reason, DepEd explores, develops, and enhances online learning and
teaching measures, and other alternative modes of education delivery, amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine.

Needless to say, along with its mission of ensuring that learning continues,
the Department is duty-bound to protect the health and safety of learners,
teachers, and its personnel.

Towards this end, DepEd needs to step up its Information and

Communications Technology (ICT). Specifically, it has to speed up the DepEd
Computerization Program (DCP) and be prepared for any eventuality.

The use of ICT in DepEd is anchored on four major areas of the Digital Rise
Program under the Public Schools of the Future (PSOF) framework, pursuant to
Sulong Edukalidad:

1) Digital Literacy Skills which are contained in the implementation of the

K-12 curriculum, covering the following:

a) Grades 4-6 : Productivity Tools

b) Grade 7 : Basic Programming
c) Grades 8-10 : Multimedia Skills
d) Grades 11-12 : Vocational Skills and Open Source

Office of the Undersecretary for Administration (OUA)

[Administrative Service (AS), Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS),
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRMMS), Bureau of Learner Support
Services (BLSS), Baguio Teachers Camp (BTC), Central Security & Safety Office (CSSO)]
Department of Education, Central Office, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City
Rm 519, Mabini Bldg.; Mobile: +639260320762; Tel: (+632) 86337203, (+632) 86376207
Email: usec.admin@deped.gov.ph; Facebook/Twitter @depedtayo
 2) ICT-Assisted Teaching where teachers will have access to e-learning
resources that have been mapped out against the curriculum and can be
used in classroom setting;

3) ICT-Assisted Learning where learners will gain feedback regarding the

subjects where they are weak in and the corresponding e-learning
resources that they need to review to better understand concepts; and

4) Automation of Organization Processes, such as Financial Management

Reforms (FMR), that will allow DepEd to track the status of budget
releases in real time, as well as improve the accounting systems, internal
control, budget utilization and delivery systems.

To support these undertakings, DepEd has initiated the replacement of

existing computer laboratories with mobile laboratories containing tablets
and laptops that can be moved from one classroom to another.

This already started in the 2019 DCP where computer desktops were no
longer considered for the program.

Previously, thin clients and desktops were provided and this required a
dedicated classroom to be converted into a computer laboratory for computer
classes.

However, since 2019, DepEd has shifted to mobile laboratories where laptops
and tablet PCs can be moved across different classrooms using storage carts.

This scheme reduced the need to have dedicated classrooms that acted as
computer laboratories. It also allowed the schools to hold computer classes even
during power interruptions. It further enabled the schools to easily move the
devices to safe locations during disasters and emergencies.

This change signified the leap from merely studying ICT as a subject, to
fully utilizing its features and advantages as effective tools for both teaching
and learning.

This direction of the Department has been accelerated during the COVID-19
pandemic.

The vision of DepEd to reach the following phases has become urgent and
inevitable:

1. All classrooms to have televisions;

2. All teachers to have laptops and teaching equipment;
3. All schools to have at least one E-Classroom Package to support 6
sections;
4. All sites (offices, schools, and centers) are connected;
5. All officials and teachers are connected
6. All non-teaching personnel to have laptops and office equipment;
7. All governance processes are automated; and
8. All competencies in the curriculum will have TV and Radio-Based
lessons that have formats accessible to learners with disabilities
(e.g., hearing-impaired and visually-impaired learners) and have
translations in local dialects.

This will cost about P170,591,511,249.

This initiative is the core of the DCP and the program includes the following:

1) E-Classroom and Multimedia Packages which contain fixed and

movable or portable technologies for the teachers to deliver Digital
Literacy Skills and implement ICT-Assisted Teaching, and for students
for their ICT-Assisted Learning during regular classes.

There are currently 39,052 E-Classroom packages being used

throughout the country for computer classes to develop Digital Literacy
Skills among learners.

Providing all of the 47,025 schools with the needed E-Classroom

packages for every six sections will require an investment of
P74,609,600,000.

There are presently 45,869 classrooms with televisions, projectors and

laptops that support ICT-Assisted Teaching in schools, on top of the
36,676 packages under FY 2020.

Providing all the 707,600 existing classrooms with multimedia packages

will require an additional investment of P44,773,890,000.

P27 billion of this amount is for teachers’ laptops.

2) Public Education Network (PEN) to make sure that all schools will be
connected, cyber security protocols are standardized, and utilization of
ICT equipment can be monitored by DepEd.

Connecting all schools to the DepEd Public Education Network will

require P4,467,375,000 more.

3) Educational Systems will guarantee that the software needed to use

the hardware for educational purposes is available.

a) Learner Information System (LIS) is currently used to issue the

unique Learner Reference Number (LRN), record the basic Learner
profile, and generate school forms.
 It will be expanded to cover additional information on the
academic performance, health status, athletics record, and socio-
economic background.
It will also be improved so that learners can just order their
permanent records through the internet without needing to go
back to the school where they graduated from.
Permanent records will no longer be lost during disasters that
may affect the school.
b) DepEd Commons will contain Open Educational Resources
(OERs) and e-books for each grade level and subject area for each
week in the school calendar.
These materials can be used to enrich regular classes as well as
in distance learning whenever calamities, such as the COVID-19
pandemic, prevent learners from going to school.
c) LR Portal will provide educational resources that are intended to
be printed, as well as the quality assurance mechanisms to
produce these items.
d) Learning Management System (LMS) will help teachers create
virtual classrooms where blended learning and digital quizzes can
occur both in face-to-face classes, or in conditions where distance
learning is required.
e) Classroom Management System will enable teachers to view
and manage devices inside a classroom so they can make sure
that their learners are actually doing the activities assigned to
them.
f) Monitoring Applications can be used by DepEd to launch quick
surveys and program tracking systems that are cellphone-based.
One of the major functions that it will perform is to facilitate the
contact tracing of COVID-19 cases among teachers and learners
in a secure manner that is compliant with the Data Privacy Act.
g) Telemedicine System will establish a computerized diagnosis
and referral system to protect the health of learners.
h) Microsoft Subscription covers a range of products such as Office
365, which is needed to deliver the digital literacy skills
component of the K-12 curriculum, Power BI for generating
analytics, and Azure Cloud Services where DepEd systems are
hosted.
i) Adobe Subscriptions cover a range of products from the Creative
Cloud which is needed to deliver the digital literacy skills
component of the K-12 curriculum and localize OERs, as well as
Adobe Sign that is used for paperless transactions.

Establishing Education Systems that will allow the hardware to be used

for education purposes will cost P9,885,638,913.
4) Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative where more than 7,000
videos, 20,000 interactive activities, and 5.8 million articles are pre-
loaded into the ICT equipment at no cost to government. This effort
will come together with a Learning Management System (LMS) which
can be accessed and used even without connectivity.

In the near future, DepEd will release a system where learners can take
their quizzes and periodical exams in the LMS and automatically get
feedback on areas where they are having difficulties with;

5) Massive Capacity Building Program that will enable teachers to fully

maximize the ICT equipment and the digital literacy component of the
curriculum using industry standard applications, as well as the OERs
in classroom teaching.

Teachers will also be trained to develop localized e-Learning resources

that will be relevant to learners.

Building the capacity of teachers will cost P897,288,000.

6) Automation of Common Organizational Processes through the

DepEd Enterprise Resource Planning System (DERPS) will cover
infrastructure, software, and change management services needed to
implement an integrated system for Asset Management, Procurement,
Payroll, and Human Resources.

It will also include services to communicate with other systems being

deployed by oversight agencies, such as the Budget Treasury
Management System (BTMS) which will automate financial transactions
in government.

Automating all governance processes will need P2,000,000,000.

7) ICT Equipment for Non-Teaching Personnel will allow support

personnel to provide the necessary services, learning resources, and
infrastructure that will let teachers focus on teaching.

Equipping non-teaching personnel with laptops, printers, and video

conferencing tools will cost P1,950,000,000.

8) TV and Radio-Based Education which will produce and broadcast

school lessons through a dedicated DepEd channel in mediums that
have the widest reach will cost P 3,000,000,000.

9) Establishing an Education Technology Division which will take

charge of conceptualizing and implementing the integration of
technology in education will cost P7,719,336.
 10) Connecting all supervising officials and teachers will enable them to
communicate easily through voice calls, video calls, and data sharing
applications.

Through mobile connectivity, DepEd can conduct teleconferencing,

video conferencing, and video calling systems to maintain collaboration
among its employees. This will cost P4,000,000,000.

11) Emergency tablets/smartphones for learners. A stock of 5 million

tablets/smartphones must be prepositioned throughout the country
and deployed to learners with no personal devices, whenever home-
based learning is required. These units are necessary when face-to-face
classes are suspended due to disasters such as the COVID-19
pandemic, typhoons, or earthquakes. At the end of three years these
devices will be given to grade 6, grade 9, and grade 12 learners so that
they can use it at home for learning purposes and when they graduate.
This will cost another P25,000,000,000.

All in all, a total of P170,591,511,249 is needed.

While the amounts are staggering, the benefits of the Digital Rise Program
will be a big leap of the Philippines towards Cyber Presence.

With the proper combination of technology and education, the Filipino Youth
will be ready to adapt to issues, concerns, and problems that they will face in the
future, as they live in the time of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

ALAIN DEL B. PASCUA

Undersecretary
PUBLIC EDUCATION NETWORK
(PEN)

Undersecretary ALAIN PASCUA

Department of Education
Republic of the Philippines
 “By 2022,
before I
step down,
the PEN
shall be
realized.”

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
PEN will enable all public schools
and DepEd offices nationwide to
be connected horizontally and
vertically, and will push contents
and data even without internet
bandwidth.

Digital Rise

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 CONNECTIVITY SITUATIONER
OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4

Schools

Number of Learners 16,437,964 2,283,480 3,346,921 766,400

6,396,801
71.99% 28.01%
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Public Phase II
Education 3,332 Last Mile Schools
through Satellite
Network
(PEN)

Phase I
Luzon Core
Network (Subic)

DONE/2020 DEPED SATELLITE

(Subic - Termination,
Pasig – Central Office,
CONNECTIVITY
Tarlac - Luzon, PROGRAM
Dumaguete – Visayas, and
Davao - Mindanao)
Connecting
the Unenergized
Last Mile Schools
via Satellite
(2020-2021)
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 Public
Education
Network
(PEN)
Phase III
21,306 schools

DEPED
ALL TECH
CONNECTIVITY
PROGRAM

Connecting All
Other Schools
(2021-2022)
Phase IV
22,645 schools

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Public
Education
Network Phase V
(PEN) Redundancy
Luzon Core
Network

Phase VI
Schools Area
Visayas Core Networks
Network

Mindanao Core
Establishing Network
Backup Networks
and
School Area Networks
(2022-2023)
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Public
Education BENEFITS OF CONNECTIVITY
• Access to DepEd Commons –
Network
the online platform of
(PEN) educational resources
• Access to DepEd Learning
Management System (LMS)
• Access to DepEd TV Episodes –
Netflix-like video-on-demand
• Access to all DepEd Systems for
all offices and schools • Continuity of
Education even in
Emergencies and
Crisis
• Cheaper Internet
Bandwidth
• Well protected and
Secured Network
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
WHAT DID • DepEd Commons
THE COVID • Learning Management System (LMS)
PANDEMIC • Upskilling of Teachers on OERs, LMS
DO TO US? • Public Education Network(PEN)
• DepEd TV and Radio
• Teachers-Broadcasters
• NATIONAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND
TELCOS JOINING FORCES FOR CONNECTIVITY
AND BROADCASTS
• LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND PRIVATE SECTOR
PROVIDING LAPTOPS, TABLETS AND
CONNECTIVITY PROVISIONS

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 We are
Leaping Forward!

DepEd’s Digital Rise

is Here.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION