One of the Best!

“Muslims, Christians and Lumads converge in Mindanao. Peace and stability in that region rests on the people’s ability to live in harmony. Local School Boards know the local situation best and are critical to building this peace through better education. Davao City, through Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and City Councilor Mabel Acosta, chairman of the council committee on education, has built a strong Local School Board over the past decade that could serve as a model for other cities.”

One of the best

By Roger M. Balanza

Education is a major focus of the administration of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Without fanfare, Davao City has established basic foundations in collaboration with the Department of Education (DepEd), other national government agencies and private educational institutions to make the city’s educational system one of the best in the country.

At the core of this initiative is the Local School Board which links with DepEd to provide scholarship, infrastructures, salaries for teachers and other basic needs of the local public school system.

Outside of the public school system, the city government locks arms with private institutions to support their programs and projects and establish conditions for students to pursue their education in a safe community.

This article, from an outsider who has extensive background on the Philippine educational system, should place Davao City on top of the heap among local government units in terms of seriousness and dedication to provide for the education of children.

The author, Juan Miguel Luz, is the associate dean of the Center for Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management. He can be reached at juanmiguel.luz@gmail.com and www.mikeluz.net.

Source: DURIANBURGDAVAO

Davao City Education Program Praised - On Education

Education

A key driver of growth

By Juan Miguel Luz

FOR SCHOOLS in Mindanao, Manila is too far away to be responsive to local situations. Concerns are likely to get lost in the competition for attention in the Department of Education (DepEd).

Local School Boards (LSB) are the key to making local decisions that meet local needs. LSBs were created by the Local Government Code to help fund public school needs through the Special Education Fund. But LSBs can do much more than that.

The Davao City LSB is a case in point. More than just funding shortfalls, it has focused on interventions that, in my view, provide system-wide solutions for the entire system.

Over the past nine years, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who sees education as a key driver of growth, and councilor Mabel Sunga Acosta, who has managed the city’s education agenda as chair of the committee on education, have led the Davao City LSB.

Three very able superintendents have co-chaired the LSB in that period: Dr. Susana Estigoy (now regional director for Southern Mindanao), Dr. Gloria Labor (who retired mid-2007) and Dr. Helen Paguican. Other members include the city treasurer, the president of the Sangguniang Kabataan, the president of the city federation of Parents-Teachers Associations, the representative of teachers’ organizations and the representative of non-academic personnel of public schools.

Davao City has a significant Muslim population, both indigenous (Kalagan and Sama) and from across Mindanao (Maguindanaoan, Maranao, Badjao), a sizeable indigenous Lumad populace and migrants from the Visayas and Luzon. As the largest city in Mindanao, Davao City has 286 public elementary and 69 public high schools with over 250,000 students and 6,671 teachers (SY 2009-2010). Because of the city’s ethno-linguistic diversity, it is one of the most complex school systems in the country.

Over the past two years, the Davao City LSB has worked with an annual budget of P177 million (2008) and P204 million (2009) to fund:

Salaries of locally funded public school teachers (123 elementary and 178 secondary) to help fill the teacher shortage;

School health and nutrition, including bio-intensive gardens in 50 elementary schools for school feeding;

School-building construction and furniture;

Workbooks, materials and supplies;

Payment of water and electricity for public schools;

School sports.

These expenditures are common for LSBs nationwide. However, the Davao City LSB has pioneered in four specific areas where the potential of LSBs can best be realized.

First, it has become the venue for reviewing school and teacher performance. To succeed, these reviews have to be fair and critical. The Davao City LSB has taken politics out of teacher appointments and promotions by subjecting these to a multi-stakeholder process.

Second, in late 2002, Acosta (in her first term) brought to the attention of DepEd the issue of teacher payroll as a teacher welfare concern. With salaries paid by central office checks, she argued that because of the distance, local teachers found it very difficult to deal with the DepEd central office regarding salary discrepancies like underpayment and over-deduction. The LSB solution: regional payroll servicing.

In 2004, Region XI was the first region to decentralize teacher payroll. All teacher payroll was subsequently decentralized to regional offices nationwide by 2005.

Third, in early 2005, Davao City became one of the first three cities to set up a Library Hub to provide public schools more access to books as a way to bring up the low reading rates of elementary pupils. This was a partnership between Dole Asia, a private company that provided the seed fund, the city government which helped with the venue (an old warehouse near city hall), and DepEd. Today, over 200 Library Hubs have been set up nationwide.

The most innovative program of the Davao City LSB, however, has been its support for Madaris education as far back as 2001, even before the DepEd moved on this. An ALIVE (Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education) curriculum was developed with the DepEd to help Muslim Filipino children acquire a deeper appreciation of their culture as well as give them better learning opportunities in English, science and math.

Today, the Davao City LSB supports ALIVE in 30 public elementary schools and funds an ALIVE coordinator who supervises 104 asatidz (learned teachers) who handle the two subjects.

Finally, under the management of Acosta and Paguican, the LSB has set up a Davao City School Board Data Bank System that tracks school-by-school performance, a GIS-based school location map (to locate high schools and feeder elementary schools and match this with schooling indicators) and a joint program with the Institute of Indigenous People’s Education (IIPE) to provide a more responsive education experience for the city’s Lumad population.

Muslims, Christians and Lumads converge in Mindanao. Peace and stability in that region rests on the people’s ability to live in harmony. Local School Boards know the local situation best and are critical to building this peace through better education. Davao City, through Duterte and Acosta, has built a strong Local School Board over the past decade that could serve as a model for other cities.

BANTAY BATA 163 DAVAO TAKBO PARA SA BATA

More than 800 running enthusiasts participated Bantay Bata's "Takbo Para Sa Bata" Fun Run last October 26, 2008, Sunday, in support of Bantay Bata, as well as other NGO's advocating children's rights call to stop corporal punishment against children. The participants include, among others, employees from the local government (including the staff of Councilor Mabel Sunga Acosta who participated in full force), members of the Philippine National Police, members of non-governmental organizations, members of the academe, as well as other people coming from all walks of life.

The categories were, 2K for children 12 years and below, 5K for children and adults, and there is also the wheelchair category for those who are differently abled individuals. Aside from the fun run which is the main event, other activities like magic shows and raffle events were also staged by the organizers from Bantay Bata.

Bantay Bata hopes to continue this annual fun run event, which is now on its sixth year, to advocate for the protection of children's rights, among others.

Bantay Bata 163 is a non-stock/non-profit non-government organization (NGO) whose primary aim is to provide care and welfare to children who were victims of abuses in any form.

DAVAO'S LET TOPNOTCHERS

PRIVILEGE SPEECH OF COUN. MABEL SUNGA ACOSTA
May 6, 2008
17th Regular Session, 15th City Council

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE DAVAO CITY SCHOOL BOARD TO MAKE CONCRETE POLICY MEASURES THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE L.E.T. TOPNOTCHERS TO TEACH IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY FACILITATING AND FASTTRACKING THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY COULD BE IN THE ROSTER AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER


Thank you Mr. Majority Floor Leader.

Madam President, colleagues in the City Council, friends in the media, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

In these times of crises such as an imminent rice shortage, the increasing price of fuel, and other news of ill foreboding, Davao City gets a whiff of fresh air courtesy of high performing Teacher Training Institutions such as the University of Mindanao, the Holy Cross of Davao College, and the high achieving Ateneo de Davao University, and their recent topnotchers.

The feel-good news is that in the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) conducted on April 6, 2008 and released almost a month later on April 30, 2008, Teacher Training Institutions in Davao City produced the following topnotchers nation-wide in the Elementary Level:

1. Benjelita Laguidong Babao of the University of Mindanao – placed Second at the national level, with a rating of 90.20%;
2. Nithel Fe Taguibolosan Cornelio of the Holy Cross of Davao College – placed Number 10, together with,
3. Genelyn Ibanez Rosendo also of the University of Mindanao, both with a rating of 87.20%.

In the Secondary (High School) Level:

4. Edwin Oscar Ulgasan Gutierrez, Jr. of the Ateneo de Davao University – placed 8th with a rating of 88.00%.

These four (4) LET passers have shown that the education institutions in these parts of the country are at par, if not more outstanding than some of the more prestigious education institutions in the country.

From the blogs of teacher-examinees, they attest that the questions were challenging and difficult. As a matter of fact, for the August 2007 LET results, out of 57,723 examinees in the Secondary level, only 16, 811 or 29.12% passed; and in the Elementary level, out of 66,709 teacher examinees, only 18, 376 or 27.55% passed. From last years’ data, it is not farfetched that the 2008 LET results would not be far behind as to the low percentage of passing. This means that to top the examination or to be within the top ten, is indeed an achievement for which all Dabawenyos should be proud.

According to DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus, the next Licensure Examination for Teachers is slated to be conducted on September 28, 2008 or in about three months. It is hoped that we will have more in the top ten.

This representation thought all along that LET topnotchers automatically are given first priority in teacher positions in the public schools. However, I was apprised that even topnotchers still have to undergo the usual application procedure. I hope that the policymakers in the head office of DepEd reconsider this and make measures that would entice and encourage Teacher’s Board topnotchers to teach in the public schools where their talent and dedication are directly and urgently needed. I do not see why they still have to go through the usual routine when they have proven their mettle as topnotchers. It would serve the DepEd well as well as the Davao City School Board, and the constituency, that these bright young teachers find it easy to get into the roster of public school teachers, rather than be employed in private institutions, or join the brain drain and think of teaching in other countries.

In the appointment of teachers, those that top the licensure exams ought to be given priority through an “express lane” so to speak, to ensure that DepEd, and ergo, our public schoolteachers, get the best. This policy measure shall also serve as incentive to would-be teachers. This may be a small measure, but it proves to be a big step further on with the long term impact on the performance of the students due to bright and dedicated mentors like these topnotchers.

Likewise, we should not also forget to give our teachers continuing education to upgrade their skills. The Mentoring the Mentors program ought to be supported not only by the government but also by the private sector in the same way that they support the Adopt-A-School Program. This representation shall continue to advocate strategies and projects that will benefit the teachers so that they in turn will be able to teach our children better. Continued teacher training is necessary to keep up with global teaching trends. After all, a teacher cannot give what she doesn’t have, particularly in teaching strategies.

Again, I commend our four Dabawenyo topnotchers and their respective institutions. We are proud of you. Congratulations and mabuhay.