PASIG CITY, 20 November 2024—Education Secretary Sonny Angara met with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on November 13 to request their assistance in supporting the transition of Sulu from BARMM back to DepEd supervision after the Supreme Court declared that the province is no longer part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Both agencies also discussed the joint education interventions and aligned efforts under DepEd’s strategic plans: the Five-Point Agenda and the Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) 2030, which will focus on improving early childhood education, foundational academic skills, and out-of-school youth support.

Secretary Angara also enjoined UNICEF to roll out new technologies and digital solutions to schools and field offices, specifically on teacher assessments and data-driven analytics.

Amid recent typhoons that hit the country, UNICEF likewise emphasized the importance of mapping the school’s connectivity to the Giga initiative to determine which schools in the Philippines do not have internet connectivity.

UNICEF underscored that connectivity is essential for DepEd to ensure learning continuity in the context of calamities and emergencies.

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