Press Release - Pimentel: Statement of Support on DepEd's Partnership with iamtheCODE to Teach Coding to Female Highschool Students

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III supports the recent signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Education (DepEd), led by Secretary Sonny Angara, and iamtheCODE, founded by its visionary leader, Lady Marieme Jamme.

"This collaboration marks a significant step toward enhancing the coding and digital skills of female high school students across selected schools in the Philippines," Pimentel said on Wednesday.

"By focusing on our young women, we are not only providing them with opportunities to thrive in the digital economy but also promoting gender equality in the tech industry," he stressed.

Pimentel has long been an advocate for integrating coding into the curriculum. He filed Senate Bill No. 79 to incorporate age-appropriate computer programming into the enhanced basic education curriculum.

"It would be timely for the Senate Committee on Basic Education to prioritize this measure. I firmly believe that teaching students how to code will not only improve schools' performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics but also equip students to be globally competitive in the 21st century," Pimentel said.

Pimentel said that this initiative by DepEd and iamtheCODE is a commendable effort to provide the youth with the tools they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving digital world.