The Department of Education begins rolling out a substantial laptop distribution to enhance teaching tools, starting in Dagupan City, under a program aiming to improve educators' workload and focus.
The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) has commenced the distribution of over 231,725 laptops to public school teachers nationwide, featuring a major allocation of 172,000 Apple MacBook Neo units. The initial distribution took place in Dagupan City, where educational officials, including President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, attended the ceremonial launch at Dagupan City National High School.
Under the DepEd Computerization Program, 10 public schools in Dagupan City received a total of 209 Apple MacBook Neo laptops, with the high school itself awarded 72 units. Before this initiative, the school had only four official laptops for approximately 5,000 students. In total, DepEd’s laptop distribution so far includes 169,008 MacBook Neo laptops and 62,717 Windows-based devices, alongside 3,646 additional MacBook Neo units allocated to administrative staff.
Education Secretary Angara emphasized the administration’s focus on equipping teachers with superior technology and adequate training to facilitate their work, particularly in preparing lesson plans and reports, enabling them to dedicate more time to teaching. The program aims to invest in educators to enhance educational outcomes for Filipino youth.
This procurement is notable as it reportedly represents Apple’s largest education deal globally for its MacBook line. Each MacBook Neo was acquired at a cost of 43,000 Philippine Pesos, which is 6,900 pesos below the prevailing retail price in the Philippines, and includes a groundbreaking five-year warranty—unprecedented in previous DepEd laptop procurements.
This initiative reflects the government’s commitment to modernizing educational resources and supporting teachers with state-of-the-art technology as part of its broader educational development policies.
Sources referenced:
- https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/1008798/deped-begins-distribution-of-172-000-macbooks-to-public-school-teachers/story/