By Lane Afable, News Editor
Education Secretary Sonny Angara is pushing for education mapping down to the barangay level to better identify learning gaps and direct programs and funding where they are most needed, as part of strengthening data-driven reforms in the Department of Education.
This initiative follows a presentation by Timothy Hormigos, a student from the University of the Philippines, who developed a more detailed map of educational attainment using data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
His study showed that breaking data down to the barangay level reveals differences within cities and municipalities, allowing for more targeted interventions.
Angara has instructed DepEd officials to study this model and explore how it can be integrated into the agency’s planning systems.
More precise data, he said, would improve decisions on allocating classrooms, teachers, and other learning resources.
He emphasized that problems in education should not be guessed but clearly seen—even at the barangay level—adding that more granular data also improves transparency and public accountability.
The initiative aligns with DepEd’s Project BUKAS and other data transparency efforts.
By combining geospatial tools with expanding open data systems, the agency aims to make education data more accessible and useful for decision-making.
Hormigos’ mapping, based on PSA census data, serves as a baseline of educational outcomes from pre-K to K–12 by analyzing individuals aged 25 and above as of 2020. Among the key findings:
Significant gaps between urban centers and geographically isolated areas
A link between better road access and higher levels of educational attainment
According to Angara, this tool can guide where to build classrooms, assign teachers, and expand programs—especially in underserved barangays and at the secondary education level.
To implement the initiative, DepEd’s Education Futures Office (EFO) and Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS) have been directed to collaborate with Hormigos in developing user-friendly geospatial maps from existing datasets.
This effort is part of DepEd’s broader shift toward evidence-based planning, moving away from broad national averages and toward more precise, community-level insights.
Future discussions are expected to address data gaps, including incomplete PSA datasets and the effects of migration and population density on educational outcomes.
If fully implemented, this approach could transform how DepEd designs programs—shifting from broad regional strategies to more targeted, barangay-specific solutions.
