| Written by Janice Sevilla,
on 19-07-2008 14:17
|
Views : 397  |
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Published in : The News, News Bits |
USAID Philippines Mission Director Jon Lindborg and Philippine Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, along with Sarangani Governor Miguel Dominguez, led the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a two-classroom elementary school jointly funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Petron Foundation in Sapu Padidu, Malapatan, Sarangani on June 4. USAID is also supporting the Department of Education's annual Brigada Eskwela program by distributing building materials, paint and books in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Zamboanga Peninsula and Central Mindanao.
The elementary school groundbreaking ceremony kicked-off the USAID-Petron Foundation partnership to co-finance the construction of 120 classrooms and the rehabilitation of 480 classrooms in the next four years to help alleviate the classroom shortage and improve access to basic education in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao. Twenty new classrooms are scheduled to be built, and 54 classrooms will be repaired in 2008 under the USAID-Petron program. The USAID-Petron partnership will equip new and refurbished classrooms with water and electricity, desks, teachers' tables and chairs, blackboards, cabinets, fans, clocks, and toilets. Based on the Commitment to Partnership agreement signed by U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney and Petron Chairman and CEO Nicasio I. Alcantara held on April 14, 2008, USAID and Petron Foundation pledged $1.25 million each, for a total of $2.5 million, for this 600- classroom construction and repair program. Brigada Eskwela is the nation-wide Department of Education's initiative to help communities prepare their schools for the start of the new academic year involving teachers, pupils, parents, local government units, and civic organizations in a collective effort to clean up and repair their school buildings. USAID, through its Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills (EQuALLS2) project is participating in the Brigada Eskwela by providing 729 public elementary schools with 5,000 pesos worth of supplies. The supplies were identified by the school heads and teachers who were consulted by EQuALLS2 through its three implementing partners: the Education and Livelihood Skills Alliance (ELSA), Save the Children, and Synergeia. The schools and communities provide labor for the repairs. In some of the regions' most remote villages, school heads will be supplied with materials such as plywood for replacing weather-worn ceilings, cement, sand and gravel for improving pathways, and paint. USAID also will provide new books to 93 schools, during Brigada week. For every grade level in these schools, USAID will provide reading materials that will enable the class adviser to set up a reading corner in the classrooms. All 729 EQuALLS2 schools will have reading corners by 2011. Extending support to the Brigada Eskwela program is one of many activities supported by USAID. Between 2006 and 2011, USAID will help the Philippine education sector by training more than 24,000 teachers in English, science and math and providing learning and livelihood training to 100,000 out of school youth. The EQuALLS2 project strives to upgrade education quality and access to learning for elementary school children and out of school youth in Mindanao, particularly those in communities most affected by conflict and poverty.
Last update : 19-07-2008 14:33
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