A Is for Apple: DepEd Secures P7.4-Billion Worth of MacBooks for Public School Teachers

(SPOT.ph) In what Apple described as the “biggest education deal ever for Mac,” the Department of Education (DepEd) has secured 172,654 MacBook Neo laptops for public schools nationwide in a deal that is estimated to cost a whopping P7.4 billion.

The government procured the MacBook Neo laptops for around P43,000 per unit, about P6,900 below the base model's suggested retail price. This covers the device, built-in software, delivery, and a five-year warranty.

The deal will distribute 169,008 units to public school teachers, while 3,646 will go to public school administrators.

According to Malacañang, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said this deal is in line with the administration’s goal to provide teachers with quality digital tools under its computerization program so they no longer have to spend their own money on laptops.

Apple markets the MacBook Neo for educators and students as an efficient productivity tool with its Apple Intelligence software and the A18 Pro Chip. The DepEd purchase also marks a record for Apple, as CEO John Ternus pointed out.

"I'm feeling great about the opportunities ahead for Apple, from our product roadmap and broad range of services to promising areas like health, emerging markets, enterprise and education," Ternus was quoted as saying. "As one example, we recently secured our biggest education deal ever for Mac with the Department of Education in the Philippines. They're going to deploy 170,000 MacBook Neos to teachers and staff."

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There’s no question that public school teachers deserve the right technology to deliver quality education, but many people couldn’t help but raise eyebrows at the new deal, especially given DepEd’s history of laptop controversies.

For starters, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said that the MacBook Neo laptops are “not an achievement” as these are not enough to cover more than 900,000 public school teachers in the Philippines.

While the MacBook Neo deal may have a hefty price tag, it's not the first time DepEd has made headlines for expensive laptop purchases.

In 2021, the procurement service of the Department of Budget and Management bought 39,583 laptops at P58,300 each. These laptops were intended as devices for online instruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission on Audit (COA) would later flag the P2.4 billion purchase as overpriced for entry-level laptops with outdated Intel Celeron processors. The COA findings stated that the adjustments made to accommodate the high price cut down the number of beneficiary teachers from 68,500 to 39,583.

In comparison, the current MacBook Neo agreement is significantly cheaper per unit than the 2021 laptops, while covering more than four times as many devices.

Tech blogger EXE Tech Solutions also pushed back against concerns that the new deal could be "overpriced," pointing to Apple's below-SRP pricing.

But price isn't the only issue. In 2024, members of the House of Representatives have also criticized DepEd for delays in delivering laptops and other equipment after it spent P2.18 billion of its P11.36 billion computerization budget for 2023.

The House also issued a subpoena in 2024 over alleged irregularities in DepEd's procurement of P8 billion worth of laptops.

Now, DepEd faces another test of whether it can deliver on its promises. The nationwide distribution of MacBook Neo laptops is set to begin this November and run until March 2027. While we should celebrate public school teachers getting a much-needed tech upgrade, we must also ask: How long is it going to take for them to actually receive and utilize the gear?

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