Philippine initiatives and directions on education for sustainable development

(Part 1)

TOKYO, Japan – Today, I am presenting this report here in Tokyo at the ACCU-UNESCO Joint Regional Seminar for the Promotion of Education for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.

As early as last October, UNESCO Commissioner and CHED director Dr. Ethel Valenzuela helped me put together a proposal for the Philippines to be the Asia Pacific Center for Lifelong Education for Sustainable Development. This is in response to UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura’s call for the FRAMEWORK OF ACTION FOR QUALITY EDUCATION to extend the EFA (Education for All) global program launched at Jomtien, Thailand in 1990. When evaluated ten years later in 2000 at Dakar, Africa, it was observed that although enrollment of students did improve in developing countries it was still substandard. The Director General stated that education should go beyond learning the basic three R’s but should result in behavioral transformation of the child so that he can become self sufficient in life.

UNESCO Director General heads the DESD Decade

The United Nation then declared the UN Millennium Development Goal (UNMDG 2000-2015) program for all its member states. In addition, it tasked UNESCO as part of the UN System to be the lead agency as the DECADE OF EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (2005-2015) was declared to activate the UNMDG goals. Director General Matsuura went to the UN General Assembly last October (just before the UNESCO General Conference convened in Paris) to be officially proclaimed as the head of the DESD Decade. Moreover, ACCU (Asian Center for Culture for UNESCO) of Tokyo received the honor and assignment to be the lead agency in the Promotion of Education for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.

With the collaboration of both Dr. Ethel Valenzuela and our new UNESCO National Commission consultant Lucille Gregorio, who worked at the regional UNESCO office of Bangkok as education curriculum expert for 15 years, this report was put together to represent the Philippine situation. It is divided into two parts for two weekly columns.

GMA’s Ten-Point Agenda for eradication of poverty

The Ten-Point Agenda 2006-2010 of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo includes "Education For All (EFA)." Education agencies have been directed to include among their goals enhancing access for all students to education opportunities through lifelong learning programs using traditional, innovative and ICT-assisted modes of learning. Access to Philippine education aims at improving the lives of every citizen and eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, including all levels of education no later than 2015.

The progress in the Philippines in terms of the promotion of literacy and enhancing quality education for sustainable development is linked with eradicating poverty; promoting peace and development; respecting, valuing and preserving the achievements of the past; appreciating the multi-cultural diversity of the peoples of the earth, living in a world where all people have sufficient food for a healthy and productive life; assessing and caring for and restoring the state of our Planet; creating and enjoying a better, safer, more just world, and be caring citizens who exercise their rights and responsibilities locally, nationally and globally.

This country paper will focus on the Philippine current initiatives, future directions and challenges on lifelong learning programs. Congruent to the objectives of the ACCU-UNESCO goals, this paper is not an end in itself but a starting point to prepare the pathway to Lifelong Education for Sustainable Development.

National policies on ESD

The Philippine Medium Term Development Plan 2004-2010 (Chapter 18) outlines the country’s Education Priorities and Strategies. Primacy is placed on quality and accessible lifelong learning, from early childhood development to primary, secondary and tertiary learning. The Plan aims to develop Filipino youth’s capacity to actively participate in national development and rightfully claim opportunities for improving their quality of life that can only be achieved through enhancing their knowledge and skills, as well as providing them with avenues to lead productive lives.

Executive Order (EO) 483 was passed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to explicitly support lifelong learning programs for sustainable development. The Executive Order centers on the roles of educational agencies and the designation of a Lifelong Learning Laboratory in the Philippines.

EO 483 promotes interaction between the Department of Education (DepEd), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), to make sure that their programs support lifelong learning in formal and non-formal educational system, technical skills training, vocational courses, alternative learning and socio-economic development programs. It represents the blueprint for education for sustainable development in the country and pushes programs to support education for all to a new level as well as lay a solid foundation to its full development.

OB Montessori Center Inc., the 40-year old institution that has effectively used the Montessori system for Basic Education and its corresponding Teacher Training College, has been designated as an arm in continuing its research and testing on lifelong educational programs for sustainable development of children irregardless of social class, race or religion from infancy to adolescence using the "prepared work environment" conditioning its students to independence.

ESD programs of the Department of Education

The Department of Education (DepEd) has lifelong learning programs that assist in fostering education for all. The programs include:

Accreditation and Equivalency (ALS-A&E) System, a certification of learning for Out-of-School-Youth and Adults aged 15 years old and above, who are unable to avail of the formal school system or who have dropped out of formal elementary or secondary education. The first component, ALS A&E Curriculum Framework is built around a non-formal education curriculum based on the new national definition of functional literacy. The five learning strands are: Communication Skills; Problem Solving and Critical Thinking; Sustainable Use of Resources/Productivity, Development of Self and a Sense of Community; and Expanding One’s World Vision.

The second component is the ALS A&E Learning Materials, a Learning Support Delivery System (LSDS) consisting of 535 print modules with 47 audio and 3 VHS tapes. These materials are tailored-fit to address the skills and competencies in the ALS A&E curriculum framework. LSDS is designed to provide learners with a range of alternative pathways in order that they may continue their learning outside of the formal system as well as upgrade their skills and competencies. Meantime, the third component, the ALS Assessment and Certification gives the learners certification to enter formal schooling.

(HOWEVER, ALL OF THESE HAVE STILL TO UNDERGO EVALUATION AND REFINEMENT.)

Balik-Paaralan Para sa Out-of-School Adult (BP-OSA Project) is an alternative learning program which gives opportunities for out-of-school youth and adults to finish secondary level education. A qualifier for this program must be at least 12 years old and may include elementary graduate or drop-out, secondary drop-out, passer or non-passer of A&E Test in the Elementary or a PEPT passer in the elementary level.

DepEd also has research and development programs that assist in enhancing alternative learning programs. The Reactivation of the Management Information System (MIS) aims to facilitate the conduct of the ALS A&E operations through installation of computerized system on the use of new information technology methods. Meantime, the Implementation of the Radio-Based and Computer-Based Learning is intended to maximize the possibility of using radio and computer as media of instruction enhancing learning faster than other print media can accomplish.

In addition, DepEd provides coordinative support for the training and development of out of school youth and adult learners using two programs: the Out-of-School Children and Youth Development Program (OSC-YDP) and the Community-Based Training and Enterprise-Development (CBTED). For the OSC-YDP, CHED coordinates with DSWD and Consuelo Foundation regarding technical assistance in providing ALS A&E materials for research and development. Meantime, for CBTED, CHED coordinates with the TESDA Steering Committee in planning and consultation to address the needs of out of school youth and adults.

(FOLLOWING THE UNESCO EVALUATION SYSTEM, THE ABOVE REQUIRE A SCHEDULE OF EVALUATION.)

ESD programs of the local government units (LGUs)

Varied lifelong learning programs are being undertaken by LGUs, for the vulnerable sectors in the country. The Molave Youth Home (MYH) Program, established in 1973, provide educational programs to youth offenders from age 9 to 18 years old, aims to provide opportunities to regain their self-respect and ensure their rights as human beings. It is a social service institution that gives counseling services to both the youth and the parents. Among the youth facilities in the Philippines, MYH is the only one adopting the Therapeutic Community Modality as a strategy in rehabilitating minors.

This program, supported by Rotary Clubs as well as other civic and religious organizations, is designed to help individuals and groups to shape their behavior towards productive direction through self-help and peer group. The residents are involved in the planning and implementation of activities with close supervision and monitoring of MYH staff anchored from home goals and objectives.

ESD program for agriculture

The aim of ESD programs for agriculture is to organize communities of high performing workers who value integrity in pursuit of excellence and professionalism in the empowerment of learners from agricultural sector. Some of these programs include:

AR Advocacy Program is intended to orient critical stakeholders, such as the academe, youth sector, and LGUs, about agricultural reform programs to increase their social awareness as well as see how it promotes sound rural development and boosts the agricultural economy. THIS STILL REQUIRES MODEL LABORATORY FARMS.

Mediation Program, under the UNDP/GOP/DLR project, promotes mediation and conciliation as a viable tool in resolving agrarian reform disputes and lessens the filing of agrarian cases. Target participants are Legal Officers, Municipal Agrarian Reform Officers and BDCD Trainers.

Paralegal Program, a UNDP-funded program, has the following components: The Enhancement Course for ARB Paralegal Trainers, aimed to further enhance the skills of trainers (DLR legal officers as well as Information and Education personnel) of would-be farmer para-legal on AR laws and paralegal skills, takes into consideration the rights-based approach and gender dimension in the capability building for farmer para-legal; and, the Training on AR Laws & Paralegal Skills for ARB is designed to ultimately lessen and facilitate the speedy and just resolution of agrarian cases by capacitating former leaders of selected ARB areas to act as paralegals through training.

Basic Course on Entrepreneurial Development Program / Advance Course on Entrepreneurial Development Program for Field Implementers, provides training on the different aspects of managing and planning a business to enable them to transfer these entrepreneurial skills to the rural communities for sustainable development. Other in-house training programs available to adult learners include: Competency-based programs for supervisory & management group and for other key groups; Supervisory Management Development Program; Enhance Program for MAROs; and Competency Profiling.

(Next week: Part 2 of a series on Promotions of ESD)

(For more information or reaction, please e-mail at exec@obmontessori.edu.ph or pssoliven@yahoo.com)