We are deeply encouraged by the eagerness of communities to participate in improving the education of their children. They look forward to learn more about the SGC and come to the SGC workshops with enthusiasm and hope.
In this quarter, 11 SGC workshops were held in Balindong, Bubong, Buluan, Ditsa-anRamain, Mamasapano, Mangudadatu, Marantao, Masiu, Matanog, Omar and Tamparan, and these were participated in by more than 1,000 school heads, parents and barangay officials. The workshops followed a structure, with the first part being a discussion of the state of education of children in the municipality. The SGC members were often shocked to be presented with data showing how poorly the children have scored in national achievement tests or the many number of children who are struggling to read. This would drive them to do their part in finding solutions.
They would then be given an orientation on the role and functions of the SGC, the difference between the SGC and the parents-teachers association, how to organize functional SGCs, how to map the community to get good and dedicated people to be SGC members, how to call a meeting and formulate an agenda, and how to build teamwork. They learned about the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and how they could participate in crafting the SIP together with the school head. They learned that in more advanced LGUs, the SGC is invited to discuss and elevate school concerns to the Local School Board and this made them more excited at the things the SGC can do for the welfare of children.
SGC Assessment. We asked the SGCs to fill up the assessment form to gauge how they are in the organization of their SGCs. Most of the SGCs scored 0-1 which meant that they are still starting to organize a functional SGC while Balindong scored a 2.68 which meant “malapit na maging good”or getting to be a functional SGC.
Table 4. SGC Performance
We used an assessment tool developed by Synergeia that looks at the attributes of a functional SGC.
The scores are computed using a 4-point rating scale:
SGC Action Plans. An important part of the SGC workshops is learning the process of preparing an action plan. To move them away from stating their plans into motherhood statements, the SGCs were helped to translate their first goals into tasks and to state them into inputs, outputs and outcomes. To make their plans operational, they were introduced into a simple RACI Matrix . They had a task analysis and identified persons who were to execute each tasks and within a timeline. They were taught the simple rudiments of budgeting. Then, they were asked to prepare their own simple SGC action plans. S ince almost all of them did not have functional SGCs, the first action plan that they did was about organizing their own SGCs. The second action plan was about implementing a simple project for the school children. Two examples of simple action plans from 2 SGCs in Bubong and DitsaanRamain, Lanaodel Sur are shown herein. They are simple plans on conducting a summer reading class and conducting a homeroom values education session.
The SGCs have drawn 175 action plans. Our program officers will be monitoring the progress of the SGCs in implementing these action plans. We will also help the SGCs in refining and costing their SGC plans.
At the conclusion of the SGC workshops, the participants wrote about their learnings and take-aways from the workshops. We sincerely believe they are off to a good start.
Nalaman kong kailangan palang kasama ang komunidad sa pagpaplano ng pagpapa-unlad ng paaralan; The importance of having an SGC and how can it help the school and the community.
Proper ways of conducting election forSGC.
Naging malinaw sa akin ang ibig sabihin ng kahulugan ng SGC sa aming paaralan. Kaagad kong maisakatuparan ito sa aming school (The SGC has become clear to me. We will organize it soon.)
We are motivated more to do our best in our duties.
Pinaka-natutunan ko ay ang pagkakaiba ng SGC at PTCA. (Difference between the SGC and PTCA)
Cooperation of the LGU/BLGU is very important to the success of the school.
SGC is a sharing of vision
Ang natutunan at babaunin ko ay ang pag-buo ng SGC at ang target nito ay learners’ performance. I-aaply ko ang natutunan ko sa training na ito.- Disalamun D. (Organizing SGCand targeting learners’performance)
Capacity Building of Local School Boards. The transformation of Local School Boards is at the core of Synergeia’s programs. Following the Robredo model, LSBs should model participatory, effective, and empowering governance in education. We have embarked on building their capacities to be inclusive and strategic in planning and to move their plans intoaction.
Experience taught us that Mayors and their LSBs learn better when sharing is done with their peers. For this purpose, we organized LSBs into Regional Education Councils. The UNICEF Mayors from Lanao took part in the Northern Mindanao Regional Education Council last February 20, 2020. The Maguindanao LSBs were all present in the Central Mindanao Education Council on March 12, 2020.
Central Mindanao Education Council
The Northern Mindanao REC learned from the experiences of Vice Mayor Alfredo Coro of Del Carmen, Surigao on how the LGU financed its education programs despite the lack of funds. They learned the importance of PPPs in education. Vice Mayor Coro reminded them that the private sector looks for Return on Investments and it would do the LGUs well if they would measure the success of their programs. He encouraged them to regularly report the progress of their work to donors because they expect to be informed of how every peso of their investment is spent.
The REC meeting had several light moments. Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra had more than his share of peer-bullying because he was absent in meeting for so many times. In fact, it was his first time to attend the meeting. He promised that he would make up by attending all succeeding meetings.
Northern Mindanao Regional Education Council
Another important agenda of the meeting was a monitoring of the progress of the LSBs in implementing their plans. Synergeia gives importance to monitoring so that implementation becomes continuous and sustained. An oversight by peers serves as both an incentive and a pressure for LSBs to implement their plans. To make their progress reporting interesting and fun, Synergeia introduced a question and answer portion that was patterned after the Ms. Universe contest. Every Mayor was asked to pick two questions that they should answer. The first one was a funny question, e.g. the theme song of their LSB, and the second one asked them to report on their successes and weaknesses. It was a time for siesta but people were keenly listening and laughing at the same time.
True to form, the LSBs belonging to the Central Mindanao Education Council showed their dynamism in their workshop. Despite the threat of COVID 19 on the air, the members were all present. The Council Chairman Ramon Piang has always been generous in sharing his experiences, lessons learned and good practices. He went further by sharing his plans for 2020 and how they will be financed. He informed that LGU has plans to construct and repair school buildings and has allotted P1.5 million from the 20% Development Fund for the purpose. There is a plan to construct four WASH facilities, continue the financial assistance program to poor students, provide subsidies to madaris schools, hire teacher-aides, support day-care workers, and pay for school utility expenses. North Upi also plans to conduct a parenting program, support the conduct of a remedial reading program and conduct a feeding program. It will also implement programs on student development like the Upi Youth Governance Program and a Children’sandaYouthCongress.
Mayor Piang said LGUs must be resourceful so that their plans can be brought into fruition. He is afraid that the SEF will never be enough to support the education projects. They will tap several sources for education financing. These are the 20% Development Fund, the Gender and Development (GAD) fund, Municipal Council for the Protection of Children (MCPC fund), and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Fund (DRRMF). He advised that the LGU does not need to be tied to the SEF fund, especially for small LGUs with limited real property tax base.
Education Plans of Local School Boards. The LSBs have taken to heart their roles in charting the education path for their children. Their plans included strengthening their organization through expanded membership, regular meetings, and capacity building workshops, and looking for ways to increase the SEF collections. They planned to hold reading camps for children and parenting workshop such as in Mangudadatu and teaching camps to enhance capacities of teachers, like Buluan and Mamasapano. They see the need for education-related statistics to help in planning, such as Bubong which is building a database of enrollees and Omar which is mapping its out of school children and youth. Bubong is partnering with a non-government organization in its program to encourage outof school youth to return to school. Piagapo wants all school-age children to be in school and will conduct home visitations, monitor attendance of children in school and link up with parents.
Measuring LSBs’ Leadership in Education. We use a scorecard to measure the performance of Local School Boards. We look at several factors, such as the full involvement of the Local Chief Executive in leading the programs and whether has taken the driver’s seat in implementing the education reform agenda. We look at organizational attributes such as expanded membership, regular meetings, monitoring of accomplishments versus targets, and openness to community involvement in education programs. We also look at how the LSB’s planning process and use of education data to track student performance.
The next table shows the baseline assessment scores of LSBs in the UNICEF project sites, applying a rating scale where “0-1” means the LSB has started the process of organizing itself, “2” means there are ups and downs, “3” means mostly ups, “4” means happy with the results and “5” means our LSB is the best.
We are happy that 5 LGUs experienced more wins in reinventing their LSBs: Balindong, Marawi City, Piagapo, Matanog, Datu Saudi Ampatuan. Their LSB ratings ranged from 3.3 – 3.8. They have embraced the task of leading the education program in their respective communities. One (1) LGU, Mamasapano with LSB rating of 2.6, experienced ups and downs in its LSB reinvention process. And 8 LGUs have started the process of reinventing their LSBs: Bubong, Ditsa-anRamain, Marantao, Saguiran, Tamparan; Mangudadatu, South Upi, Buluan. Their LSB ratings ranged from 0.6-1.8. They are starting well and we continue to mentor and handhold our LGUs through the process of strengthening their organizations.
CONSOLIDATE community ownership of the dream to enable all children to complete a good basic education. Inspired by our belief that everybody plays a role in achieving this goal, Synergeia partners with local governments and builds their capacity to be more participatory, strategic, and holistic in addressing the problem of education, and ultimately,poverty.
CAPITALIZE on value-enhancing collaborations and partnerships. Synergeia believes in the power of collaboration and partnerships to raise the efficacy of its programmes, expand their reach and anchor their success on long- term sustainability.
CREATE a culture of empowerment. Synergeia conducts town hall meetings and education summits to inform the communities on how their children perform in schools. Together, we discuss programs that we can do together to strengthen theirperformance.
CHANGE and build capacities for improved learning and governance outcomes and develop a strong sense of community spirit.
Synergeia’s approach as an enabler is characterized by our 4Cs strategy:
1. Building a Learning Community
For many municipalities like Masiu, Mamasapano, Matanog, Omar and Tamparan, it was their first-ever education summit. It was their first experience to learn that learning performance can be measured. They talked about how many children are in school, how many drop out of school and how many can read well. For many of them, schooling is just matter of attendance.
The education summits were enlivened by the attendance of LGU officials led by the Mayor. It impressed upon them that education must indeed be important because the Mayor is there. It was an occasion for them to have workshops with the principals and teachers where parent were not listeners, but participants. Their ideas were welcome and listened to.
The state of education in their communities was not to gloat about. Fifty percent (50%) of children in Buluan cannot read well. Only 30% of children who enter Grade 1 in Tamparan are able to reach and finish Grade 6. Children in Matanog and Mangudadatu get only 3 correct answers out of 10, on average, in the national achievement tests. It was their wake-up call that pushed them into action. The Mayors led their battlecry: they can improve their state of education if they work together.
Table 1. State of education in Selected Municipalities in BARMM, January – March 2020
Education summits do not end in sadness—they end with a call to action. The summit participants worked together to draft their action plans.
Mamasapano’s Education Summit. FormerMayor,now Vice Mayor, Benzar Ampatuan was happy with the improvement of their dropout rate and participation rate. But he expressed dissatisfaction with the other performance indicators. He refused to attribute the latter to their town being located in the rebel area of the Liguasan marsh. He urged all stakeholders to work with him so that their children can have better opportunities through education. He realized the importance of measuring performance through data and indicators and instructed the municipal planning officer and district supervisor to regularly report these data to the Local SchoolBoard.
In the workshop discussion, the teachers and LGU employees raised that students cut their classes because of computer gaming. It does not help that they have poor reading skills and low reading comprehension. Classes are packed with a teacher-student ratio of 1:100. Students are being recruited by war soldiers especially in Libutan Elementary School which is near the war zone of the BIFF and ISIS.
But summits are not all about complaints. They should end in community-based solutions. After discussing the difficulties that children face, the participants were asked two questions:
What factor can help their children to complete a good basiceducation?
How will they will their children learn better and complete theirschooling?
Here are the answers from Mamasapano:
On question 1:
Parent’s support/involvement in the activities of their child –supporting and enhancing the emotional development of their child and monitoring their child’s activities.
Adequate nutrition/good health to their child – when students are well nourished, they are able to learn better.
Competent teachers – in order to provide quality learning, teachers need to improve their own professional practice.
On question 2:
Proper nutrition for their child/student by conducting feeding program where PTA members volunteer as kitchen crew and the LGU provides for the transportation.
Parent’ss upport.Parent’s play a vital role in their child’s education. Good manners and right conduct are learned at home.
Being competent teachers. Teachers’ competency improves the teaching-learning process in schools.
Masiu’s Education Summit. January 28, 2020 marked a milestone inMasiu, Lanao del Sur. It was their first education summit. The important link between good education and better means of livelihood was underscored by the Municipal Administrator. He exhorted the teaching force of Masiu to do their best in teaching the children who are the future of Masiu.
The principal of Masiu Central Elementary School explained that the increase in enrolment was due to IDPs who came from Marawi City and resettled in Masiu as a result of the Marawi siege. She also noted poor financial status and child labor as the major causes why children drop out of school. Parents give importance to children lending an extra pair of hands. The parents would excuse their children from school in order to go fishing which is the town’s main income source.
During the workshop, Masiu stakeholders identified the following as conditions that can result in good education for children: stakeholders’ participation, financial support, parents’ cooperation and conducive learning environment. They said they can help through constant stakeholders’ meetings, coordination with LGU and barangay officials, and capacity building for parents, teachers and barangay officers.
Buluan’s Education Summit. Faced with low performance of learners, participants in Buluan identified these conditions as necessary for attaining good education of children: parents’ support, good governance, competent teachers and conducive learning environment. They said they can help by conducting remedial reading classes, parents’ training, teachers’ training and assessment and data management.
Tamparan’s Education Summit. For Tamparan stakeholders, the support and coordination of the different stakeholders in the community is the topmost condition that could bring about good education for children. Breaking this down, they identified strong parents’ participation in their children’s education, competent teachers, good school facilities, instructional materials, permanent district or school head, supportive LGU and BLGU, and clean environment.
What every individual can contribute included: having monthly meetings between parents and the LGU, rigid training of teachers, parents’ support and workshop, giving pupils guidance in learning, providing sufficient instructional materials, and good school chairs “para sumaya naman ang mga bata (so children will be happy).”
Matanog’s Education Summit. Matanog suffered because of the ill-effects of the war against the MILF in the year 2000. The residents acknowledged that they badly needed to improve their education system and Mayor Mohammad-Ali Guro hoped that with the remaining two years of his term, it would not be too late for Matanog. They lacked classrooms with existing classrooms bursting with 70, sometimes 100, students. Their NAT score is very low at 31.46%, and one-third of their students, 36%, are poor readers.
During the workshop, the participants identified the following factors as necessary to improve
education: parents’ support, teacher competency, conducive learning environment and remedial reading classes. When asked what they can do, the teachers committed to teach with a heart, have better time management, hold remedial reading classes, avoid laziness and tardiness, build a good relationship with parents, support GMRC subject and support the ‘no read, no pass’ policy. On the part of the PTA and barangay officials, they committed to a closer coordination between teachers and parents, and avoid child labor.
Mangudadatu’s Education Summit. Mangudadatu was another first-termer in holding an education summit. They had a Big Brother to assist them— Mayor Abubakar Paglas of Datu Paglas lent his presence to provide support and mentoring. He inspired them with the success of his education programs that was achieved through the involvement of all stakeholders in the community. This is the key to a successful education program.
Mayor Mangudadatu zeroed in on the reading problem noting that 56% of children are struggling to read and that many students in Grade 6 are still unable to read well. Parents needed to be mentored on parenting and to be more involved in the school activities of their children. Teachers would be helped by capacity building workshops. The LGU committed to support a comprehensive capacity building program.
Balindong’s Education Summit. Mayor Benjamin Bagul’s personality can be deceiving. He can be brash at times, but he has a soft spot for children. He led the education summit last February 20, 2020, and emphasized the need for improving the quality of education in his town. Only 6 out of every 10 students are proficient in reading and they need to help the instructional and frustration readers. He stressed that the community must help in raising more revenues so that they can finance the needed education programs.
As workshop outputs, the community identified the following factors as contributory to a good education:
Parents’ support to the children (specifically the slow and non-readers) and the teachers
Innovation (i.e. computer literacy)
Complete, well-equipped classrooms; conducive buildings and facilities for learning
Teachers who are competitive and who teach by area of specialization,and
Good mental health and well-being of both the students and the teachers.
As members of the community, they identified what they can do to improve the welfare of children:
Empowering the alumni association
Having PTCA Meetings and distribution of SRC (School Report Card)
Love of work
Build good relationship with the stakeholders
Teachers’training
Computer literacy training for teachers
Regular consultation of stakeholders,and
Licensed Guidance Counselors.
Omar‘s Education Summit. The ZamBaSulTa Regional Education Council meeting in Zamboanga so inspired Mayor Hadji Abdulbaki Ajibon. He wanted to be like his peers—an Education Mayor. He is now fully committed to improve the state of education in Omar. The Mayor promised his full support for education but he stressed that he can only succeed if the community will wholeheartedly support his leadership.
The workshop participants were asked to answer the question “Ano ang kwento ng mga bata sa Omar? (What is the story of children in Omar?)” Their stories revolved around the following plots:
Presence of slow readers andnon-readers;
Lack of teachers
Poverty and livelihood;
Geographical location of the school–school is far from the children’s homes;
No “baon” (snack or money to buy snack) so students would rather be absent from school; and
Infrastructure problem.
The second question was “Ano ang gusto nating mangyari sa kwentong ito? (What do we want to do about their stories?)” They were ready with their responses:
Provide books, classrooms and other facilities including chairs;
The presence of the SGC should be felt by way of helping to address the problems of the school;
Crafting of policies to be adopted by the SGC;
Address the lack of school library; and
Implement a remedial reading program. As suggested, they can make it a habit to allocate a few minutes to conduct the reading intervention program.
Al-Barka’s Education Summit. The mayor of Al-Barka was filled with gratitude. At last, peace has come to their municipality after years of conflict and “plague.” He was profuse with thanks for their partnership with the military, barangay leaders and parents that made peace possible. Now, the Mayor said that they were facing another war—the war on ignorance. He called on SGC and LSB members to ensure continuous support for teachers, monitor the performance of children, and hold regular meetings on the concerns of schools. He himself was profuse with plans: the construction of a reading center in every school, to hire more volunteer teachers, and the creation of “kusina ni Inah (mother’s kitchen)” to address the problem of malnutrition among children. He announced the creation of a monitoring and evaluation team to monitor the performance of school children and teachers regularly. The results of their M and E will be regularly reported to the community.
