AS the new school year opens today, September 13, at least 26 farm schools of the Department of Education in Western Visayas will accommodate 1,861 Grade 7 learners.

“This is a pioneering Philippine farm school in compliance with Republic Act 10618 (Rural Farm Schools Act) that mandates DepEd to organize a farm school,” Dr. Jude Thaddeus Iledan, chief of the DepEd field technical assistance division, said.

“These 26 farm schools were given their respective permits because the law expressly mandates DepEd that the approval of the permit is lodged at the regional office,” he added.

Ramir Uytico, DepEd Western Visayas regional director, said they wanted to instill in the minds of people that “there is always life in agricultural productivity.”

“There is a private farm school but there is no established farm school that’s DepEd-managed. That is why we in DepEd Region 6 claimed that this is the first in the country that is public,” he said during a virtual news conference.

“The program will have limited immersion because it is only implemented in Grade 7. However, it needs the active participation of parents to ensure that whatever learning in the program will be applied at home,” he added.

Uytico said gadgets will be given to enrollees to encourage more students to enroll in farm schools.

“To support the farm school, all employees of DepEd from the region down to the school level are invited to implement home gardening,” he added.