Government and education officials have signed a covenant vowing to work for the improvement of the quality of education in Basilan province. Basilan Governor Hadjiman Hataman-Salliman said Wednesday the covenant signing highlighted the first-ever Provincial Education Summit aimed at improving the quality of education in the province. Summit attendees in Lamitan City on Tuesday included Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture; Department of Education (DepEd) Assistant Secretary Jesus Lorenzo Mateo; and Minister Mohagher Iqbal of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MBHTE-BARMM). 'One of the serious issues facing the education sector here in Basilan is the high prevalence of learning gaps, particularly among children from far-flung and vulnerable communities,' Salliman said. In particular, the signatories committed to help generate resources and mobilize support for the improvement of the education sector; lobby for the implementation of relevant education laws; improve the capability of educators to deliver quality education; and advocate for children's welfare and development. Meanwhile, Gatchalian said he will push for the institutionalization of the conduct of education summits nationwide. Gatchalian said he will also move for inclusion in the agenda of the Education Commission (EdCom) the schooling situation in the BARMM. The EdCom formulates the objectives and basic policies of education for children and adults in conformity with the philosophy and mandates of the Constitution. 'We should find ways on how the national government can help the education in the autonomous region,' Gatchalian said. A study showed that Basilan's literacy rate has risen over the past two decades though it remains one of the Philippines' lowest with 72.2 percent considered literate, compared to the national figure of 92.6 percent. Basilan has three schools divisions that include Isabela City, which is under the DepEd, and Lamitan City and Basilan, both under the MBHTE-BARMM. The first-ever education summit in Basilan was anchored on the theme 'Collective Ownership, Resolving Learning Gaps.'
Source: Philippines News Agency