Thursday, October 25, 2012

Highlight on DepEd's Bro. Armin A. Luistro's Speech at MAP General Meeting

Management Association of the Philippines, a 62-year-old management organization whose 800 members represent a cross-section of CEOs, COOs and other top management practitioners from the largest local and multinational companies operating in the Philippines, just had its recent membership meeting at Dusit Thani Hotel yesterday.
MAP with their 2012 theme, "Execution with Integrity for Progress,"  also counts some top management educators as its members, which include government officials.   They run advocacy helping out enhance management skills producing professional managers and work side by side with our government's educational system.


One of their mission is to promote educational activities that enhance the knowledge, skills and values of management  practitioners and educators nationwide.  With their advocacy for reforms that help shape a brighter future for the Philippines, what could be a better way to practice it than in our Philippine schools.   When I hear or read about these words, "a brighter future for the Philippines," I often associate it with our school children.   And it was just befitting to help out DepEd in carrying out their missions.   At the core of the meeting was a speech by Bro. Armin A. Lusitro, FSC, as he presented the Implementation of K to !2 Program and addressing the classroom shortage.    The secretary's report on the needs, development and future plans of DepEd have been very meaty with all the information that had everyones' interest and awe in some.

As his introduction he talked about major changes our school system had, "The Department has made significant progress in wiping out all of its input gaps. From June 2010 to the first week of October 2012, 27,010 classrooms were built, 29,261 new teachers were hired, and millions of textbooks and seats were procured and delivered to our schools. By the end of this school year, the President and I have made the commitment that there will be no more shortages in seats and textbooks. By the end of 2013, we target to eliminate all deficits in classrooms, water and sanitation facilities, and teacher items – a first for our country since after World War II."

Some other progress which DepEd is proud of are the following:

More than half of the 1.4 million private high school students enjoy subsidies from the government, for this alone.
Having passed the Republic Act No. 10157 – the Kindergarten Education Act , last January.
Public school teachers now enjoy increasing compensation, from their starting salary of PhP12,026, last 2008 to at least PhP18,549 monthly as of this year, showing the value our government places in what is possibly the noblest of professions.

K to 12 aims to produce Filipino graduates who are holistically-developed, equipped with 21st century skills, and prepared for higher education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship. K to 12 is about enhancing our basic education curriculum and providing the best means of delivering this curriculum to our children and learners, even those outside the confines of a traditional classroom.

As we all realized that education is about developing our human capital and how we as a country prepare our children and youth to the best of our abilities and resources, so they may all lead productive and meaningful lives regardless of their background, interest, and beliefs.
With all  these, he posed a challenge -How do we bequeath a better Philippines to our children and children’s children?
I agree in what Bro. Armin said and I know most would speak on DepEd's behalf, that there is only one real and guaranteed equalizer-  and it high quality education that is accessible to all.
Another big chunk of his speech is the was all about K to 12 and all its importance and some aspects covering its implementation.  Which I will do a separate blog of.  
The most salient part though of his speech is his urge for the private sectors' support and how MAP could be of great assistance to DepEd.   
Bro. Armin had been welcoming stakeholders in making his vision possible, which we can see that he is very much appreciative of


There are 3 critical areas where DepEd need support, according to Bro. Armin: (1) Resources, (2) K to 12 Implementation, and (3) Teacher Quality and Welfare.

Programs like Adopt-A-School need more support from more companies and the program is ready to take in more partners.
On implementing K to 12, the Higher School Program by the ADM Consortium (Asia Pacific College, Don Bosco TVET Schools, The Manila Times College, in partnership with Business Processing Association of the Philippines or BPAP) is just one example. There are different models to be explored in the area of immersion/practicum offerings for our K to 12 students, industry partnerships with LGUs and schools to model SHS, and of course, supporting these graduates as your future employees. Our teachers also need support in terms of training and overall welfare. They enable us to deliver the K to 12 basic education program to our students.

Some good case practices from the private sector so far would be: 
1. Jollibee Foundation – Feeding Program that is truly central to their business, along with their other projects for Education.

2. Google – Web-based communications solutions for the entire DepEd Network

3. League of Corporate Foundations, PBSP, PBEd – 57-75, which consists of Bayanihang Pampaaralan & TEN! Moves, both programs are geared towards building classrooms

4. PBEd – 1000 Teachers – providing scholarships to the best and brightest high school graduates to pursue Education courses, specifically in English, Science, and Math, in turn producing 1000 quality teachers to enter the public school system

After the impressive speech, Sec. Jesli A. Lapus, sat down with him and answered more queries.   May Int forget one of the highlight as well of the event was the announcement of  MAP Management Man of the Year 2012 awardee, which went to Bank of  Philippine Island's Aurelio "Gigi" R. Montinola III.

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