Lcceditor

On September 23, 2019, the LCC Secretariat briefed Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, the newly elected chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture on LCC. The said meeting was requested by the senator in preparation of the Special LCC Meeting which was held on September 25, 2019 at the Pasig City Hall.

During the briefing, the LCCS Chief shared with Sen. Gatchalian an overview of the Council, including its current initiatives and 3-year Roadmap on universalizing literacy in the country. The highlights of the discussion included the issue on the conduct of the Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) as a measurement of Basic and Functional Literacy, seeing the Alternative Learning System (ALS) as the main vehicle to universalizing literacy, and the vital role of LGUs and localization of LCC in strengthening efforts to universalize literacy at the local levels.

The LCC Briefing was concluded with a Photo Op of the Secretariat with the Senator on Monday afternoon at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City.

On September 9, 2019, the LCC Secretariat (LCCS), together with the DepEd External Partnerships Service (DepEd-EPS) and DepEd Information and Communications Technology Service (DepEd-ICTS), awarded the Certificate of Appreciation and a “Thank You! Partner” Plaque to 88 Sites.com, Inc. for its sponsorship of the development and hosting of the LCC Website. The two-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC) and 88 Sites.com, Inc. will expire on October 2, 2019. Present to the Awarding Ceremony are the team from the LCC Secretariat headed by Mr. Enrico R. Mendoza, as well as the personnel from Deped-EPS Ms. Maria Carmel A. Rimpos  and DepEd-ICTS, headed by Engr. Ofelia L. Algo. Ms. Elsa A. Bautista and Mr. Clark S. Manalad received the said awards.

The hosting of the LCC Website shall now be taken over by the Department of Education. LCC would like to extend its appreciation to 88 Sites.com, Inc. for its unwavering support to the Council and its goal of universalizing literacy in the Philippines.

The said meeting was held at the 88 Sites.com, Inc. Office, now known as Strategist.PH, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

The Literacy Coordinating Council Secretariat (LCCS) spearheaded the conduct of the Validation Workshop on the LCC Database Management System held at DepEd ECOTECH Center, Lahug, Cebu City on September 17-20, 2019. The workshop aimed to validate the data requirements of literacy implementers and stakeholders that will be contained in the system; and finalize the data requirements and elements of the National Literacy Information System (NLIS).

Participants from different DepEd Central Office (CO) Bureaus, LCC Council Members and Representatives, Technical Working Group Members, selected Local Government Units (LGUs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) provided outputs on the Validation of the Database Structure which contains eight (8) modules, and Development of Data Tables. The modules validated for the NLIS Structure and provided templates for data tables include Basic Education, LGU, NGO, Research on Literacy and Good Literacy Practices. Mr. Marc Louie M. Almario of the Municipality of Rizal, Laguna; Mr. Dionesio A. Fuentes of the Municipality of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte; Ms. May R. Cinco of Education Network (E-Net) Philippines; and Ms. Luchi C. Flores of Coalition for Better Education (CBE) also discussed their represented agencies’ Success and Challenges on their Gathering and Utilization of Literacy Data.

The LCC Secretariat, together with the Technical Working Group (TWG) Members and Council Members and Representatives, discussed the initial findings on the submitted entries for the “Re-opening of the Call for Papers” relative to the conduct of the 2019 National Literacy Conference (NLC) to be held on October 8-11, 2019 in Iloilo City.  Dr. Heidi B. Macahilig, PNU representative, presided over the LCC body on selecting qualified research papers which were submitted during the re-opening of the Call for Research on Literacy extended until September 4, 2019. These should be relevant to the conference’s theme, “Aligning 21^st Century Literacies to Industry 4.0 through Research” highlighting their policy recommendations. Updates on the Approved, For Consideration/ Revision, and Parked pre-selected research abstracts were also deliberated.

They also discussed the technicalities on the finalization of the NLC Program of Activities including the specifications on the Guide Questions for the Talk Show. Other topics discussed include the Revision of LCC Roadmap and Milestones for the fiscal years 2019 to 2022 and the conduct of the Validation Workshop on LCC Database Management System to be held on September 17-20, 2019 in Cebu City.

The said planning meeting was held on September 6, 2019 at the Administrative Conference Room, Alonzo Building, DepEd Central Office.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is conducting a series of focus group discussions on the implementation of the Mother Tongue-based – Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE). This activity aims to gather information from various stakeholders from different localities for the enhancement of the existing language policies of the Department. Led by the Bureau of Curriculum Development (BCD) headed by Director Joyce Andaya, the field work is participated in by representatives from the different bureaus of DepEd and some resource persons from various relevant institutions, including the Indigenous Peoples Education Office (IPsEO) and the LCC Secretariat. On August 27-30, 2019, the team headed to Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Del Norte, and Isabela City to conduct FGDs with school heads, teachers, learners, parents, and elders from indigenous peoples communities. The next leg of FGDs is scheduled next month in Benguet.

It may be recalled that MTB-MLE began its implementation in all public schools, specifically in Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2 and 3 as part of the K to 12 Basic Education Program, through DepEd Order no. 16, s. 2012.

LCC Chairperson Diosdado M. San Antonio, DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction, met the Council Members and Representatives and presided over the 139th Council Meeting on August 23, 2019 held at the Bureau of Curriculum Development (BCD) Conference Room, Bonifacio Building, DepEd Complex, Pasig City. The said quarterly LCC Meeting featured discussions on the updates for the conduct of the 2019 National Literacy Conference and Hall of Fame Award, as well as the 2019 LCC-NGO Forum to be held on October 8-11, 2019 and October 23-24, 2019, respectively. The result of the validation for the NLA Hall of Fame Award, and the revised LCC Roadmap and member agencies’ Key Performance Indicators (KPI) were also presented for the approval of the Council. Other highlights of the said meeting include the agreements for the future undertakings of the Council.

The said event was successfully concluded as the LCC Chairperson, Council Members including Hon. Congressman Roman T. Romulo, together with other Council Representatives and the LCC Secretariat posed together during the Photo Opportunity.