DepEd joins fight vs climate change

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Education is taking part to protect the environment by integrating climate change lessons in the curriculum soon in all private and public elementary and high schools in the region.

DepEd-7 has created a task force in cooperation with the Visayan Electric Corporation (VECO) to determine the concepts that will be integrated in academic subjects especially in science.

Deped-7 director Recaredo Borgonia said the task force is specially created for Central Visayas. It will have lessons that will specify climate change issues in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

“We believe that if our students are educated about climate change, its impact and threats in our lives, they will be urged to care more for our environment,” Borgonia said.

The task force is now thoroughly discussing the matter and once a concrete curriculum is crafted, Deped-7 will start producing the materials.

“In the national level, there are also initiatives on how the environment will be given a highlight in the curriculum. We have to take action as soon as possible because of our condition right now,” Borgonia said.

“It has been very obvious that there are changes in our environment. Weather is very erratic, when you expect a rain it does not come, when you don’t expect rain it comes. We have typhoons during months we least expect them. So you see, these are the factors that are prompting us to do our share in the global fight against climate change,” Borgonia said.

Meanwhile, Borgonia said that by next year, all schools will start implementing the mother language education program (MLEP), which mandates the use of mother tongue as medium of instruction for the first three levels of basic education.

“We expect to implement it by next year after securing all instructional materials and providing trainings to our teachers,” Borgonia said, explaining that it is one of the department’s efforts to further improve the quality of education in the country.

Based on studies, children, who have mastered their mother language first and learned things using it as the medium of instruction, excel more in school.

“Mas makahibalo man gud sila sa mga butang kung nakasabot sila so we will strictly implement that all grade one to grade three students shall use their mother language in all subjects,” Borgonia said.

When students enter Grade Four, the medium of instruction will shift to English and Filipino. Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental will be among the pilot areas where this new policy shall be implemented. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/LPM   (FREEMAN NEWS)