The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday thanked Filipinos after being recognized as the top performing government agency in the recent Octa Research Group Survey.

In a statement, the DepEd said the confidence of the Filipino people in the department has fueled its determination to push for the reopening of face-to-face classes amid pandemic challenges.

“The Department of Education is grateful for the trust and support of the Filipino people. The reopening of schools and the resumption of in-person classes — geared at ensuring that we effectively address the enormous learning losses brought by the Covid-19 pandemic — would have been harder without your help, feedback, advice, and confidence in us,” it said.

In the recent survey, DepEd got the highest satisfaction rating at 87 percent, with 11 percent undecided and 2 percent dissatisfied.

The DepEd noted that the Filipinos’ trust also helped the department continue addressing other challenges within the basic education system.

“This strengthens our determination to find solutions to the issues and challenges besetting the Department,” it said.

For the last three months, the DepEd has been hurdling challenges presented by the gradual and full implementation of nationwide face-to-face classes, school repairs and rehabilitation due to earthquakes and tropical storms, and curriculum reviews to address pandemic learning loss and job mismatch, among others.

Meanwhile, the DepEd has intensified its campaign against violence by launching more accessible hotlines.

It has also doubled its efforts in partnering with the health department and other stakeholders to ensure the safe resumption of in-person learning and promote vaccination through counseling, as well as speed up the establishment of temporary learning spaces in disaster-affected areas.

DepEd also urged other stakeholders to maintain a close partnership with it to further improve the education sector.

“We hope to continue partnering with everyone in raising the quality of basic education, protecting our youth from all forms of abuse, and promoting the rights and welfare of our learners and all DepEd personnel across the country,” it said.

Besides the DepEd, the Octa Research survey also included the Department of Health and Department of Social Welfare and Development as other top-performing government agencies, with 79 percent and 76 percent satisfaction rates, respectively.

The survey was done among 1,200 adult respondents nationwide from Oct. 23 to 27. (PNA)