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DepEd-LGUs partnership to narrow gap in classroom shortage

MANILA, Philippines – The Departments of Education (DepEd), Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), have signed a pact that provides DepEd and provincial governments are to share 50-50 in the costs of constructing public school buildings. 

Education Secretary Armin Luistro, DBM and former DepEd Secretary Florencio Abad, and LPP president and Oriental Mindoro Governor Alfonso Umali Jr. signed the memorandum of agreement that will commit the DepEd and the provincial governors for a partnership in building more classrooms and school buildings to address the acute classroom shortage in public schools. Currently, classroom shortage in the country stands at over 152,000 on a single shift to meet the 1:45 ideal classroom-students ratio. Based on the MOA, the three LGU groups are expected to execute legal documents to vest DepEd with full ownership of the classrooms and the land on which they stand after completion of the classroom construction. 

According to Luistro, the commitment of LPP, the LCP and the LMP gives DepEd more confidence that the classroom shortage will be addressed soon. 

“Education being the great equalizer, this partnership will be the concrete embodiment and manifestation of democracy in action at the grassroots level. Kung maraming provincial, city at municipal governments ang lalahok sa programang ito ng bayanihan sa eskwelahan, malamang mabibigyang solusyon natin ang kakulangan sa silid-aralan sa lalong madaling panahon,” Luistro said. 

While the MOA does not guarantee 100 percent participation of LGUs, it nevertheless gives DepEd a certain level of assurance that it can bridge the school building gap knowing that many LGUs have chosen education as their advocacy. 

While DepEd budget allocation for 2011 increased by some 19 percent, it stressed that it could hardly keep pace with the resource requirements of at least one million new entrants to the public school system every year. 

Making matters difficult for DepEd was the new batch of pupils in kindergarten which has become compulsory beginning school year 2011-2012.

By Rainier Allan Ronda 
The Philippine Star; February 10, 2011

Forum on the literacy situation of Filipinos

The Literacy Coordinating Council will hold a Dissemination Forum on the  “State of Functional Literacy of Filipinos: Results of the 2008 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey” on March 2, 2011; 9:00 a.m. at the Pearl Hall of SEAMEO INNOTECH, Quezon City. The forum aims to inform education stakeholders on the literacy situation of Filipinos based on the results of the survey.

Conducted every five years by the National Statistics Office, the Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) is a national survey that gathers  information on the basic and functional literacy status of the population; their educational skills; qualifications; and exposure to mass media.

The results of the 2008 FLEMMS spell out literacy achievement that will help provide a clear picture of the scope of the country’s illiteracy problem, which is the focus of the forum. The forum will provide a platform for consolidating actions based on the results;  determine the policy and program implications of the results; and recommend possible courses of action to improve the literacy situation of the country.

The three previous rounds were conducted in 1989, 1994 and 2003.

The participants of the forum are national government agencies; non-government agencies; local government units; leagues of provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays; state colleges and universities; private organizations; and civil societies.

ETS opens doors to higher education in many countries

MANILA, Philippines – Educational Testing Service (ETS), the leading academic and business assessment company in the world, has recently updated its Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test, to make it more test-taker friendly for thousands of applicants planning to take graduate-level studies in different countries including the Philippines.

More than 600,000 prospective graduate and business school applicants from 230 countries take the GRE General Test each year. GRE scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement undergraduate records, recommendation letters and other qualifications for graduate studies.

The test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills that are not related to any specific field of study. GRE scores are sent to more than 3,200 institutions and used by all types of graduate programs around the world, including over 450 MBA programs.

In August 2011, ETS, the creator of the GRE Tests, will launch the GRE revised General Test. Revisions to the test will include a more test-taker friendly design, and new question types that better reflect the kind of thinking students will need to do in today’s demanding graduate and business school programs.

Registration for the GRE revised General Test opens on March 15, 2011, and the revised test will be administered beginning Aug. 1, 2011. Students who take the GRE revised General Test in August and September of 2011 will receive a special 50 percent discount.

It is important to note that students who take the test in August and September 2011, will receive their GRE test scores until mid-November 2011. That means students who need their scores reports before November 2011, must take current test before Aug. 1, 2011.

The GRE General Test is offered as a computer-based test (CBT) year-round by appointment at most locations. It is considered less expensive than other graduate admissions tests that measure the same skills, while providing students with added value through access to free GRE test preparation materials, free GRE Search Service and the free ETS Personal Potential Index (PPI) Evaluation Reports with a GRE General Test registration.

Students interested in preparation materials for the GRE revised General Test can visit https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/ where they will find free preparation materials for the computer-based and paper-based versions of the GRE revised General Test.

Aside from developing the GRE General Test, ETS is also the creator of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) tests.

The Philippine Star, January 13, 2011

DepEd, various groups forge ‘integrity pact’

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) forged yesterday a first-of-its-kind “integrity pact” with its suppliers, business partners and civil society groups that commits DepEd and the people who do business with it to eschew graft and corruption in all transactions. 

The pact was signed by Education Secretary Armin Luistro and the representatives of over 60 suppliers including 39 publishers and copyright owners, seven printing companies, three office supplies and equipment companies, two freight forwarders, four school furniture suppliers, two science laboratory equipment companies, three hotels offering meeting venues, two construction materials suppliers, three sports equipment suppliers and one company offering soil testing services.

Also affixing their signature to the pact are representatives of civil society organizations which include the Ateneo School of Government (G-Watch), Procurement Watch, Inc. (PWI), the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP), the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), PTCA of Quezon City and the Affiliated Network for Social Acccountability in East Asia and the Pacific (NSA- EAP). 

Luistro said that while government has its own initiatives to address corruption, those steps cannot succeed without individual and collective commitment from private businesses that deal with government. 

“First we must acknowledge that corruption erodes the moral fiber and impedes economic growth. Second, we must act responsibly by leading by example, thus, this integrity pledge which binds DepEd and the business groups to always observe ethical business practices and good corporate governance,” Luistro explained. 

In the integrity pledge, the business sector declared to prohibit bribery in any form and ensure that its charitable and political contributions, business gifts and sponsorships are transparent and are not aimed to attempt to influence the recipient whether from government or the private sector. 

The business sector also pledged to maintain a code of conduct to guide its employees towards ethical and accountable behavior at all times and committed to apply appropriate sanctions to violators of the code. 

It also commits to enter into integrity pacts with other businesses and with government agencies when dealing with procedures related to the bidding and procurement of supplies, materials, equipment and construction supplies. 

To ensure collective action among business enterprises to foster ethical, clean and transparent business transactions in the country, the business sector will support a nationwide initiative intended to create fair market conditions and transparency in business transactions. 

The business groups also agreed to share best practices, tools and concepts to be used by all participating entities to achieve the goals of the nationwide initiative. 

By Rainier Allan Ronda 
The Philippine Star, February 24, 2011 

ETS opens doors to higher education in many countries

MANILA, Philippines – Educational Testing Service (ETS), the leading academic and business assessment company in the world, has recently updated its Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test, to make it more test-taker friendly for thousands of applicants planning to take graduate-level studies in different countries including the Philippines.

More than 600,000 prospective graduate and business school applicants from 230 countries take the GRE General Test each year. GRE scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement undergraduate records, recommendation letters and other qualifications for graduate studies.

The test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills that are not related to any specific field of study. GRE scores are sent to more than 3,200 institutions and used by all types of graduate programs around the world, including over 450 MBA programs.

In August 2011, ETS, the creator of the GRE Tests, will launch the GRE revised General Test. Revisions to the test will include a more test-taker friendly design, and new question types that better reflect the kind of thinking students will need to do in today’s demanding graduate and business school programs.

Registration for the GRE revised General Test opens on March 15, 2011, and the revised test will be administered beginning Aug. 1, 2011. Students who take the GRE revised General Test in August and September of 2011 will receive a special 50 percent discount.

It is important to note that students who take the test in August and September 2011, will receive their GRE test scores until mid-November 2011. That means students who need their scores reports before November 2011, must take current test before Aug. 1, 2011.

The GRE General Test is offered as a computer-based test (CBT) year-round by appointment at most locations. It is considered less expensive than other graduate admissions tests that measure the same skills, while providing students with added value through access to free GRE test preparation materials, free GRE Search Service and the free ETS Personal Potential Index (PPI) Evaluation Reports with a GRE General Test registration.

Students interested in preparation materials for the GRE revised General Test can visit https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/ where they will find free preparation materials for the computer-based and paper-based versions of the GRE revised General Test.

Aside from developing the GRE General Test, ETS is also the creator of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) tests.

The Philippine Star, January 13, 2011

PNU celebrates 19th University Week

MANILA, Philippines – With the theme: “Charting the Roadmap to Education for Sustainable Development,” the Philippine Normal University marks its 19th year of elevation as a university with a week-long celebration starting Jan. 10 to 15, 2011.

Newly elected 10th PNU president Dr. Ester Ogena presides over the celebration assisted by the three vice presidents, Drs. Adelaida Gines, Rebecca Nueva España and Evangeline Golla.

The highlights include a “Salute of Excellence” to PNU students who topped the LET Board Exams given last September 2010. They are on the elementary level: Ruby Abalos Rivamonte, 6th place, PNU Manila; Ma. Lyn Parto Igliane, 9th place, PNU Lopez; secondary level: Dominic Parcon Guaña, 6th place, BS Physics and Technology, Carlo Angelo Noel Pelotenia, 6th place, BS Physics for Teachers, PNU, Manila; Jessie Sjaron Gueriba, 7th place, BSE Physics and Technology, PNU, Manila; Larry Fontanilla Tengco, 7th place, BS Chemistry for Teachers, PNU Manila; and Anna Khares Gallos Garcia, 9th place, BSE Mathematics, PNU Manila; Johanna Jayne See Tacus, 7th place, Bachelor of Library and Information Science, Licensure Examination for Librarians, PNU Manila. Cash prizes and plaques of appreciation will be given to those achievers.

The Philippine Star, January 13, 2011

NZ education system impresses DepEd execs

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines – The public school system in New Zealand (NZ) is so advanced in terms of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that preschool children in rural schools are already each provided with laptop by the government. 
This was one of the significant observations made by a group of Department of Education (DepEd) regional directors, including Western Mindanao (Region 9) education chief Walter Albos, during their recent week-long educational tour in NZ which, unfortunately, was hit not long ago by a killer earthquake.

The visiting DepEd field officials, aside from Albos, included directors Paraluman Giron of Calabarzon, Ligaya Miguel of Ilocos, Josephine Tamondong of Cordillera Administrative Region, Mario Ramirez of Central Luzon, Isabelita Borres of Central Mindanao, and Estrella Babano of Northern Mindanao.

Albos noted that each NZ elementary and secondary school is governed by a local board of trustees which implements the national government’s educational programs and projects in its own state.

NZ public education is free and compulsory even as the government collects no school and miscellaneous fees from students.

Albos also observed that NZ parents who don’t send their children to school are sanctioned by the government; hence, school participation rate is virtually 100 percent even as school dropout is never a problem in that country which boasts of more cattle and sheep than people.

NZ average class size is only about 15 students who actually perform most of the classroom activities themselves. The teacher’s task is focused mainly on classroom supervision and management, Albos said, adding that instruction is very informal with every classroom having a socialized atmosphere where children often do their class work freely sitting or squatting on the floor.

Classroom walls are replete with attractive instructional devices even as reading materials openly lay on corner tables. Every local classroom also boasts of a corner kitchenette complete with plates, glasses and utensils where children take their free snacks with milk during their free time. The NZ government also provides students with free school service buses which take them to school in the morning and return them to their respective homes after classes.

By J. Antonio Rimando 
The Philippine Star, May 12, 2011 

Luistro lauds free birth registration project

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) expressed its support to the Free Birth Registration project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), saying the project will help DepEd prepare the infrastructure for “universal kindergarten” for all five year-olds in the country. 

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said that proper birth documentation is very important especially now when it has made kindergarten mandatory to entry to Grade 1 as the initial phase of their ambitious K (Kindergarten) + 12 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) plan.

“This project is very timely especially in preparation for the forthcoming enrolment of students in our public schools. Birth certificate is a very important document in securing student’s identity,” said Luistro.

Luistro also emphasized that this effort supports the Education For All (EFA) goal that the country pledged to meet by 2015.

The Free Birth Registration project advocates the protection of every child’s basic rights, more particularly in keeping children in school. Thus, he encouraged parents to grab the opportunity of registering their children for free.

This joint project is initiated to cover the registration of Indigenous Peoples (IP), children of indigent parents, children who are enrolled and will be enrolled in public schools and all beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program who have no birth certificates yet.

The project also responds to the difficulty in complying with the basic documentary requirements such as birth certificates of children in tribal communities. 

Alongside with DepEd and DSWD, the Free Birth Registration project under Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, is in collaboration with the National Statistics Office (NSO) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). 

Registration and processing fees of birth certificates will be shouldered by government funds for the month-long registration from May 3 to 31, 2011 in the Local Civil Registrar’s Office of every municipality.

By Rainier Allan Ronda 
The Philippine Star, May 12, 2011

Enlist schools in ecological waste management, DepEd urged

MANILA, Philippines – Environmentalists yesterday urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to push the country’s 55,230 public and private elementary and secondary schools to engage in waste prevention in line with the opening of a new academic year. 

The EcoWaste Coalition specifically requested Education Secretary Armin Luistro to issue a memorandum that will remind school administrators to put in place appropriate policies and systems for reducing and managing school discards if they have not yet done so. 

The last time the Education Department issued a reminder on the implementation of ecological solid waste management in schools, the group noted, was in 2001 during the term of then Secretary Andrew Gonzalez. 

“With another La Sallian brother at the helm of the department, we hope to see more schools becoming centers of excellence in terms of eliminating garbage and promoting environmental stewardship and action among our students and citizens,” said Roy Alvarez, EcoWaste Coalition president. 

He stressed, “Zero waste resource management will contribute to a healthy and socially-responsible school system that will not add to the 35,000 tons of trash that the whole country generates each day.” 

Alvarez recalled that DepEd Memorandum No. 33-2001 provided for the monitoring of school implementation of ecological solid waste management, including the promotion of “sorting-at-source,” the “use of recycled materials” and “banning any form of open burning.” 

“Now is the best time for DepEd to reiterate school involvement on Zero Waste resource management as this will complement the government’s national green agenda, particularly in preventing and reducing trash,” said Christina Vergara, also of the EcoWaste Coalition. 

“The memorandum can also include attractive incentives for schools to enforce and shine in ecological waste management, including morale-boosting commendations for practicing schools,” she added. 

The group cited the grand winners of the “National Search for Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Schools,” namely, the Peñablanca East Central Elementary School in Peñablanca, Cagayan; La Castellana National High School in La Castellana, Negros Occidental; and Palawan State University in Puerto Princesa; as well as the recipients of the “Dark Green School” label from the Environmental Education Network of the Philippines such as the De La Salle University- Dasmariñas Cavite; Miriam College in Quezon City and Visayas State University in Baybay, Leyte; and the Cavite Institute in Silang, Cavite, which the World Bank cited for its innovative recycling for scholarship program. 

By Rhodina J. Villanueva 
The Philippine Star, May 12, 2011 

Tagum City relaunches literacy programs

The City of Tagum under the leadership of Mayor Rey T. Uy, relaunched its City Literacy Coordinating Council Skilled Workers English Enhancement Program (SWEEP) and IELTS Review for Skilled workers on January 31, 2011 at UM Tagum College, Tagum City. The graduates in this community- based training will have a chance to work here and abroad.

One of the guests during the launch was Dr. Norma L. Salcedo of the Literacy Coordinating Council. Speaking before a group, she acknowledged and thanked the participants in the recently-concluded National Literacy Conference and Awards held last September 8-11, 2010 in Baguio Teachers Camp, Baguio City for their continuous support and participation. She also congratulated Tagum City for winning 1st Place in the 2010 National Literacy Awards, Outstanding Local Government Unit Category, Component City under the leadership of Mayor Rey T. Uy. She commended Mayor Uy for continuously supporting literacy programs in their City.

Mayor Uy focuses on iteracy programs not only focusing on basic literacy but also functional literacy. This demonstrates how a local government can provide for the development of functional literacy.

Dr. Saceldo emphasized in her message that the challenges in society today and in the future require that the competencies of educated Filipinos should not be merely restricted to reading, writing, comprehension and numeracy skills which alone may not be sufficient to insure that they will function effectively in their immediate and gradually expanding community and in the rapidly changing world.

She stress that “Globalization has dramatically altered structures in the world of work. In our globalized world, the competitiveness of national economies and enterprises depends, in a large measure, on a highly skilled workforce that can respond effectively and efficiently to changing work processes. An essential part of such processes is ICT. This requires continuous adjustment on account of evolving hardware and software, modern communication and the immediacy of information on the internet. As the knowledge and skills of workers are regularly updated and expanded, more advanced knowledge of ICT becomes a must. Such new and changing demands require appropriate and periodically updated training. Akin to the demands of rapid economic development, globalization requires appropriate and periodically updated training. Such catchwords as “lifelong learning” and “learning-on-demand” would appropriately describe the kind and extent of training needed. The training may heavily lean on ICT and may incorporate e-learning and mobile learning.”

According to her “A global environment is participative, consultative and decentralized. This means that the Filipino as a global citizen will need to behave in a more democratic and consultative manner. Greater public access to new information technology needs to be provided to give the public greater opportunities to participate and provide occasions for continuing dialogue and consultation. The kind of literacy needed in a global environment is the ability to be responsive and flexible, because times change and even occurrences that we do not anticipate do happen. The school through the curriculum, should teach the Filipino learner to be continually responsive or to even go beyond what is prescribed to be an effective member of society.”

Pledge of Commitment were given by Dir. Fely Rabaca, School Director; Hon Nicanor T. Suaybagui, Jr ., CLCC Co-Chairmperson; and Ms. Nenita E. Lumaad, School Division Superintendent. Mayor Uy gave words of challege for his city to achieve functional literacy for all.