ARMM teachers push literacy, culture of peace

COTABATO CITY , Philippines — The education department hired 765 more teachers to help address illiteracy in far-flung areas in Maguindanao province and propagate a “culture of peace” among schoolchildren.

The teachers enlisted by the Department of Education-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao took their oath as civil servants in separate rites administered on Monday afternoon and on Tuesday morning by DepEd-ARMM’s Regional Secretary Rasol Mitmug Jr.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and senior members of his regional cabinet were also present in the event held at the regional capitol compound in Cotabato City.

All of the new 765 teachers have licenses.

The ARMM government has enlisted more than 3,000 licensed elementary mentors in the past four years after incumbent officials removed thousands of “ghost teachers” from the payrolls of the education department that proliferated during the time of past regional administrators.

One of the agenda of the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is to provide education to Moro children in isolated areas.

Hataman, who has ministerial control over the DepEd-ARMM, yesterday said he wants the new teachers to engage in off-campus activities meant to build unity among Maguindanao’s Muslim and Christian sectors.

The common focus of the DepEd-ARMM and Hataman’s office is to weaken misguided Islamic militancy in remote towns in the autonomous region by enabling children to gain access to mainstream schools through infrastructure, health and social welfare interventions.