The Department of Education is piloting an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted tool aimed at reducing the time teachers spend on nutrition screening in public schools.
The system, called the System for Intelligent Growth and Learner Anthropometry (SIGLA), was developed by the Education Center for AI Research to help teachers estimate students’ height and body mass index (BMI) indicators using a mobile phone.
The tool uses computer vision and other AI frameworks to classify nutritional status based on standards set by the World Health Organization, minimizing the need for manual measurement and data encoding.
“SIGLA represents a practical step toward reducing administrative burden among teachers while improving how we monitor learner well-being,” DepEd secretary Sonny Angara said.
“With the support of a mobile phone, teachers can quickly screen which learners may need closer attention, allowing nutrition support to reach them sooner, while giving teachers more time to focus on instruction,” he added.
DepEd cited findings from the Second Congressional Commission on Education indicating that teachers spend as much as 55% of their time on non-teaching tasks, highlighting the need to streamline administrative work.
“SIGLA can support the early identification of learners who may be at risk of stunting or underweight conditions using images captured on a mobile phone, reducing reliance on specialized equipment,” said Erika Fille Legara, managing director and chief data and AI officer of ECAIR.
“The system is designed as a decision-support tool, with human reviewers consistently involved in the process. It helps flag learners who may require closer assessment, allowing health and education personnel to prioritize appropriate follow-up,” she added.
School officials involved in the pilot said the tool could ease routine data collection. “Our challenge has always been the time teachers use on gathering students’ BMI data,” said Daisy Cañizares, principal of Project 6 Special Science Elementary School in Quezon City.
“For teachers, SIGLA is more effective because it reduces manual steps. Teachers can focus more on teaching because it takes less time to collect data,” she added.
SIGLA is currently being tested in select elementary schools in Metro Manila, where AI-assisted screening is running alongside traditional methods to validate accuracy. DepEd said the tool may be rolled out to more schools once validation and operational requirements are met.
