GSIS marks Teachers’ Day by expanding Adopt-A-School Program to 30 schools, adding solar power

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) marks National Teachers’ Day (October 5), by extending up to PhP12 million in learning support to 30 public schools nationwide under its Adopt-A-School Program (ASP). For the first time, the assistance includes solar power systems for schools that run on limited or unreliable electricity.

Each beneficiary school may receive up to PhP400,000 in assistance, covering technology and assistive learning devices, furniture, equipment and other resources for online and face-to-face instruction.

GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso said the program is part of the pension fund’s commitment to create social dividend value beyond its core mandate of providing social security benefits to government workers and pensioners.

“Public school teachers are GSIS members, and many of them teach in schools where electricity cannot be relied upon. Through the Adopt-A-School Program, we are giving them the equipment and the steady power they need to teach well, and giving their students a fair chance to learn,” Veloso said. “On National Teachers’ Day, we honor them with support they will use in the classroom every day.”

The GSIS is also supporting this year’s National Teachers’ Day observance in recognition of public school teachers, who make up more than half of its more than two million membership.

The solar power units are designed to keep computers and other learning technologies running in schools with inadequate or unreliable electricity supply. They will give teachers a dependable power source for daily instruction.

The GSIS selects beneficiary schools in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd), which recommends last-mile and other priority schools that need technology and learning support. The GSIS then works with each approved school to determine its specific requirements. GSIS branch offices coordinate with schools in their areas and facilitate delivery of the assistance.

The ASP is pursuant to GSIS Board Resolution No. 133, dated Sept. 26, 2023, which authorized the continued implementation of the program from 2024 to 2027. The resolution sets a target of 30 schools a year, or 120 schools over four years, at PhP400,000 per school. This brings the program’s total approved allocation to PhP48 million, or PhP12 million a year.

The GSIS will continue to work with DepEd to improve learning conditions in schools and communities where educational resources and basic infrastructure remain limited.