Japan builds school buildings in Maguindanao

MANILA, Philippines - Japanese Minister for Economic Affairs Tomochika Uyama is now in the country to attend two turnover ceremonies today and tomorrow in Maguindanao.

Today, June 17, Minister Uyama will attend the turnover ceremony for the newly constructed five classrooms furnished with desks and chairs at the Ibn Tamiyah Foundation Academy, Inc. in Barangay Simuay, Sultan Kudarat. The project for construction of five-classroom building at Ibn Tamiyah Foundation Academy, Inc. was funded through the Embassy of Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) with a grant amounting to approximately P3.5 million.

Ibn Tamiyah Foundation Academy, Inc. is providing education from pre-school to the college level. It is a Madrasah that offers Islamic studies in Arabic. In the past, the Academy’s high school students who wanted to pursue public education offered in English had to enroll in evening classes in other schools. Due to this inconvenience, the Academy, with the approval of the Department of Education, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM), introduced an English curriculum in 2002. Unfortunately, due to the limited number of classrooms, the Academy was not able to implement the new curriculum fully.

With the construction of the new building with five classrooms, students can now enjoy an improved learning environment. Two hundred and fifty desks with chairs have also been provided by the grant.

Tomorrow, June 18, Minister Uyama will attend the ceremony marking the completion of the educational facilities constructed by Oxfam Japan under the Strengthening Schools and Community Structures as Focal Points for Community Reconstruction and Conflict Reduction Project at the Kakai Elementary School in Pagiat, Maguindanao. This project was funded through the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, a small-grant funding program of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), with a grant amounting to P5.8 million. This is the first project implemented by a Japanese NGO under the Japan-Bangsamoro initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD), which was launched in December 2006 as part of the Government of Japan’s commitment to support peace and development efforts in Mindanao.

Under this project, three school buildings with six classrooms have been constructed for the Kakai Elementary School in Paglat, Maguindanao furnished with 300 desks and chairs. The project also included training for the parents, teachers and community associations (PTCA) of the Kakai Elementary School and Salam Elementary School that aimed at empowering the capacity of the association in terms of advocacy and fund-raising.