Manila: The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday launched Project HANDA to ensure a smooth and ready school opening in all public schools nationwide. Project HANDA serves as a support initiative to track school opening readiness across the country on June 8.

According to Philippines News Agency, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized the system's importance in deploying resources to areas with the highest need. 'Through Project HANDA, we are fulfilling President Bongbong Marcos' directive to use data-driven solutions to systematically fix our classrooms and build a truly resilient Bagong Pilipinas," he stated.

Project HANDA will monitor critical indicators like physical facilities, support for learners, and instructional readiness. The initiative enables the DepEd to share detailed, school-level data with regional and division offices, optimizing the impact of future budget allocations and streamlining infrastructure aid. Angara highlighted the necessity of swift and accurate data collection to address facility and equipment shortages before classes commence.

The project utilizes baseline data to strategically plan institutional interventions for facility upgrades and repairs. While not all classroom renovations need to be completed before the school year, essential repairs will proceed concurrently to address urgent structural issues. The system has documented PHP28 billion in priority structural repair proposals and PHP2.7 billion in requested repairs for water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.

Through Project HANDA, about 76 percent of public schools, equating to over 36,000 institutions, have been equipped with vital ICT devices. The system also tracks instructional material provision, with textbook deliveries for Grades 4 and 5 already surpassing 70 percent completion, marking significant progress in learning material distribution.