By Kasturi Datta |
The Philippine’s department of education DepEd and Microsoft are working to equip one million public school Filipino teachers with access to Microsoft Copilot.
The expanded partnership will help educators use the AI-powered tool to personalise learning, provide more responsive support, use real-time insights and reduce administrative burden.
The initiative follows the success of a nationwide AI skilling programme which was rolled out earlier this year . The training uses real-classroom scenarios to help teachers develop curriculum-aligned lesson plans and assessments, draft communications and summarise student progress efficiently.
Registrations for the flagship training event exceed 175,000 with nearly 75,000 live attendees, which led to DepEd’s National Educators’ Academy of the Philippines to extend the programme into a new phase for registered participants.
The new initiative also builds on a literacy pilot programme – rolled out earlier this year – which reached 3,431 students across eight regions and trained over 2,100 teachers how to use Microsoft’s AI-powered tools Reading Progress and Reading Coach.
“Our learners deserve an education system that is ready for the future,” said Sonny Angara, secretary of department of education for the Philippines. “Through our partnership with Microsoft, we are bringing AI tools to one million Filipino teachers to help them save time, engage learners better and strengthen teaching in the classroom. More importantly, this partnership will help us support learning recovery and prepare every Filipino child for an AI-driven world.”
Alongside AI training, the renewed partnership will focus on sustained investments in school internet connectivity, ICT equipment, smart classrooms and laptops to build on DepEd’s ongoing digitalisation agenda.
“At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more,” said Mayank Wadhwa, president of Microsoft Association of South East Asian Nations. “In the Philippines, there is no more important place to bring that mission to life than in education. By working with DepEd to put Microsoft Copilot in the hands of one million public school teachers, we have an opportunity to help educators save time, strengthen learning and prepare young Filipinos for a future where AI will be part of every industry and every career.”