CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar – Teachers in Samar are receiving new digital tools to improve classroom instruction and expand access to educational resources through an artificial intelligence-enhanced learning platform launched by the Department of Science and Technology.
The DOST Eastern Visayas regional office officially turned over educational equipment, including 30 Chromebooks and a television, to Guinsorongan Elementary School on October 5, 2026, coinciding with the celebration of World Teachers’ Day.
The donation forms part of the e-TURO initiative, formally known as Enhancing Teachers’ Unimpeded Rational Objectives. The platform integrates a learning management system, a digital content library, and AI-powered tools designed to assist teachers with lesson planning, content creation, student assessment, and progress tracking.
By automating administrative and routine tasks, the system allows educators to focus on direct classroom instruction and address individual learning needs.
In a message read on her behalf, Dr. Carmela Tamayo, schools division superintendent for DepEd Catbalogan City, thanked the DOST for providing resources that strengthen science education and build digital literacy among students.
Tamayo emphasized that technology should eliminate learning barriers rather than create new ones, highlighting the value of inter-agency cooperation.
"This partnership demonstrates what we can achieve when government agencies work together toward one common goal: providing our learners with better opportunities to learn and our teachers with better tools to teach," Tamayo said.
DOST Eastern Visayas Regional Director John Glenn Ocaña noted that national and international academic benchmarks continue to reveal significant learning gaps in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics across basic education.
Ocaña cited declining proficiency levels in foundational science and mathematics in Eastern Visayas, warning that unaddressed learning gaps could hinder long-term regional economic growth.
"If we do not address these learning gaps today, we risk leaving an entire generation behind in an increasingly digital and technology-driven global economy," Ocaña said. "Reversing this decline in STEM learning is an urgent opportunity that requires immediate and collective action."
He explained that the e-TURO platform is designed to operate effectively even in areas with limited or absent internet infrastructure, delivering interactive digital modules and hands-on STEM materials directly to remote classrooms.
"To our educators and school leaders at Guinsorongan Elementary School and across Samar Province, this technology is designed to empower you," Ocaña added.
The e-TURO deployment aligns with the broader strategy of the DOST to deliver science-based solutions targeting four priority areas: human well-being, wealth creation, wealth protection, and sustainability.