Theme: Broadening the PPP Horizon: DepEd Perspective

Speaker: Usec. Ronald Mendoza, PhD

The INNOTECH Seminar Series on Education, Innovation and Technology held on May 6, 2026, featured Usec. Ronald Mendoza, PhD, Undersecretary for Strategic Management of the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd), who discussed the potential of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to address infrastructure and digital gaps in Philippine basic education. Drawing lessons from earlier Public-Private Partnership School Infrastructure Projects, his presentation outlined DepEd’s roadmap for addressing a classroom deficit of 165,443 through a combination of PPPs, conventional procurement, donations, leasing or acquisition, and other approaches. He highlighted how PPPs can enable procurement at scale, frontload investment commitments, and shorten construction periods compared with conventional procurement. The presentation also introduced succeeding school infrastructure PPPs targeting different regions of the country, alongside PSIP Connect, which focuses on devices, internet connectivity, and power for public schools nationwide.

Usec. Mendoza further highlighted how DepEd’s approach to PPPs is expanding beyond physical infrastructure toward digitalization and technology-enabled learning. He presented PSIP Connect as supporting a nationwide connectivity backbone and AI-ready educational technology, while also discussing initiatives such as Khan Academy AI and High Touch High Tech approaches that combine AI support with teacher guidance for personalized learning. His presentation emphasized that education investments should ultimately contribute to improved learning, noting that how much students learn in school matters more than the length of time they spend in school. Looking ahead, he described the evolution toward next-generation PPPs that balance partnerships with conventional procurement, integrate services through service-level agreements, strengthen good governance and transparency, and enable localized or regionalized approaches. The presentation underscored the potential for strategically designed partnerships to address infrastructure and digital needs while supporting improved learning and a more responsive education system.

Access the Full Presentation