PIA invites Aklan schools to attend journalism seminar-workshop
by Venus G. Villanueva
Kalibo, Aklan (16 July) — The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Regional Office 6 is inviting incoming campus paper writers and advisers from Aklan’s colleges and high schools to attend this year’s Campus Journalism Seminar and Workshop, preferably those who have not attended any of the agency’s seminars before.
Venue of the seminar-workshop is the Iloilo Grand Hotel, Iznart Street, Iloilo City.
PIA 6 Regional Director Atty. Ma. Janet C. Mesa said that sessions for college participants will have added modules on On-Line Journalism and Blogging, a joint activity with SMART Communications, and an overview of the Wall Newspaper, in keeping with the focus on on development communication.
For high school participants, sessions will have added module on Community Newsletter.
A registration fee of P1,400.00 will be charged per participant to cover 1 lunch and 2 snacks for 3 days.
Every year, PIA 6 is conducting this type of seminar to equip campus paper writers and advisers with basic skills and knowledge in journalistic writing in its broader as well as specific aspects: news, feature and opinion articles.
The seminar also aims to equip them with basic knowledge in the practice of photojournalism and those related with journalistic skills, like copy editing, headlining, and page designing.
For this year, college participants will be taught to practice on-line journalism including blogging and photo-blogging through the SMART Com journ.ph platform so PIA is advising them to bring a laptop per publication.
In Aklan, letters had been sent to various schools in the province inviting them to attend the seminar-workshop. (PIA)
Book drive for child laborers to be launched
Iloilo City (13 July) — A book drive dubbed “Libro Mo, Buasdamlag Ko” aimed to gather books for use of child laborers will be launched in Iloilo City on July 17 at the Robinson’s Activity center, 2:30 in the afternoon.
ABK2 Initiative Project Director Daphne Culanag said the books gathered will be distributed to the different Learning centers of their partner communities, to be used for simple tutorial or story telling sessions, or reading sessions.
The ceremonial turn-over of books for Iloilo will be done by Gina Agnes Espinosa, President of Iloilo Cultural Research Foundation and Dr. Minda Formacion, Chancellor, UP in the Visayas.
The opening remarks will be given by ABK2 Initiative Project Director Daphne G. Culanag, while DepEd 6 Director Mildred Garay, DSWD 6 Director Minda Brigoli and DOLE 6 Director Crispin Dannug, Jr. will present their commitments for the project.
ABK2 Initiative Project manager for World Vision will give the closing remarks.
The ABK2 Initiative (Pag-Aral ng Bata sa Kinabukasan) is a four-year project which seeks to sustain reduction of exploitative child labor in the Philippines, in cooperation with Child fund Philippines, ERDA and World Vision. (PIA6/ESS)
School sanitation sparks ‘Bayanihan’ spirit in small village
By Rachelle M. Nessia
Dumaguete City (13 July) — Elementary school teacher Sheila Estonilo picks up a piece of chalk and prepares to write on the blackboard in her classroom when a gangly hand goes up near the back of the room. “Ma’am, may I go out, Ma’am?” a small voice belonging to a skinny boy pipes up.
Salag Elementary School, which stands along the highway of the sprawling Siaton town in Negros Oriental, a province in the Central Visayas islands of the Philippines, has long had a problem with a lack of adequate toilets. The school only had two comfort rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls, which are not enough to accommodate a student population of more than 100.
As the waiting line outside the comfort rooms grow, most (those who could not hold it anymore) run to nature – the nearest bushes – to literally, answer the call of nature.
Teacher Sheila says this is why students take a long time to get back to class. Once they step outside the classroom to do their business, the students tend to loiter around and dilly-dally long after they’re done doing their business. “We have no control of where they will go after they ask to leave the classroom. The students often take their time before coming back to the classroom, missing out on a lot of the day’s lesson,” she said.
But things changed when Unicef stepped in to address the school’s problem. Teacher Sheila still remembers the day when officials from Unicef came to their school to deliver free goods as well as the good news. “They gave us books and notepads for the students and told us that they will give us comfort rooms. We were so happy when we heard that,” she recalled.
After the dust settled from months of construction work, year 2009 saw all seven classrooms in Salag Elementary School each outfitted with brand new and sparkling white toilets. Because of this, Salag’s students not only learned proper sanitation and hygiene but also improved their participation in their classes.
“Now the students don’t need to step out of their classrooms when they have to go to the toilet. Loitering students during class hours is no longer a problem,” Principal Millard Merced happily said, as he pointed out how helpful the toilets have been to their school.
The provision of toilets is one of the many projects carried out by Unicef in elementary schools belonging to disparity villages in the province to promote school sanitation and hygiene. One of the requirements cited in Unicef’s Child-Friendly School System is for the school to be “healthy” with adequate sanitation and toilet facilities. To date, six elementary schools in disparity villages across the province are now enjoying the sanitation, and privacy, provided by clean comfort rooms courtesy of Unicef which supplied the toilet facilities. The local government units, in return, shouldered the cost of construction.
But it was not a happy ending yet at this point for Salag Elementary School. After the toilets were completed, the school faced another problem: water has long been and continues to be a dilemma for the school and the entire village. “Now that we have the toilets from Unicef, we have to deal with the problem of lack of water. We don’t have a water supply coming in from the main line,” lamented Principal Millard.
Although the village has a water source, the supply is not sufficient to address the water needs of the village residents. But this did not stop Principal Millard who was determined not to let the toilets go to waste. So he called for a meeting with the teachers and together they came up with an idea to solve the lack of water in the toilets. However, the solution they thought of can only be done with the support from the parents of the students.
So in the next Parent-Teacher Homeroom meeting, Principal Millard presented the solution before the parents- for each parent to contribute money for the purchase of containers of water in each toilet every school day. The principal was not sure if he could convince the parents. With Salag tagged as a disparity area, life in the village is hard and water is scarce and expensive.
But to the principal’s surprise, the parents readily said yes. Now, with the parents chipping in the funds, each classroom’s toilet has up to five gallons of water, enough to address the sanitation needs of around 60 students in each class. All this made possible by the bayanihan spirit among the Salag villagers. Bayanihan is a Filipino term referring to a spirit of communal unity or effort to attain a particular objective. In this case, the objective was to make sure that Unicef’s efforts are not wasted and the students in Salag get to use to the fullest the sanitation facilities provided for them.
Principal Millard is glad to see how the community has gotten involved in addressing the water problem in the school. “This would not have been possible had Unicef not provided the toilets. I don’t think the parents would have agreed to shelling out the money that quickly. They were inspired by what Unicef has done for the school,” he said with a smile on his face. (PIA)
DOST One Visayas stages invention contest, exhibits
Tacloban City (July 12) — The Department of Science and Technology Visayas cluster composed of Regions 6, 7 and 8, is set to stage the 2010 Visayas Island Invention Contests and Exhibits on August 12 to 14, 2010 at Amigo Mall in Iloilo City.
The 2010 VIICE is a competition open for both the public and private sector inventors and researchers within the Visayas area. There are six (6) categories where talented Filipinos can compete in the invention contest.
The six categories include the Invention Category (Tuklas Award); Utility Model Category; Industrial Design Category; Creative Research Category (Likha Award); Student Creative Research Category (Sibol Award) for High School; and Student Creative Research Category (Sibol Award) for College.
Director Esperancilla disclosed that the Visayas Island Invention Contests and Exhibits (VIICE) serve as the elimination or qualifying round for the National Invention Contest, pursuant to Section 4 of the Republic Act No. 7459 also known as “Inventors and Invention Incentives Act of the Philippines”.
The good Director is inviting investors and researchers in Region 8 to submit entries for the said contest.
“This is time to showcase your inventions and compete with other inventors from the other Regions in the Visayas,” Director Esperancilla said.
The Inventions guidelines may be downloaded at DOST 8 website at www. region8.dost.gov.ph. The entry forms may also be downloaded from the same website. (PIA 
Indigenous people receive school supplies in Negros Occidental
Bacolod City (22 June) — The Operation Tulong Task Force of Aksyon Radyo officially turned over five (5) boxes of school supplies to the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) in line with its back to school campaign dubbed as “Balik Eskwela sang Akyon Radyo-Bacolod.
Melodina Cardinal, NCIP staff said they are very grateful for the help extended to the indigenous people in the province adding that they seldom receive donations like school supplies and school uniforms.
Gary Consing, tribu Ata tribal leader expressed his gratitude to radio station and all its donors during the simple turnover ceremony, recently.
Consing said that the donation is a timely response to the needs of their children who just went back to school, adding that this is the first time that they were made the recipient of a project from a local radio station. (PIA/cad)
DepEd bans students in malls, internet cafes, cinemas during class hours
Tacloban City (June 23) — The Department of Education is now prohibiting all students of public and private elementary and secondary schools from going to computer shops, malls, theaters, and other similar establishment during class hours.
Through DepEd Order No. 86 series of 2010 issued on June 18, 2010, Education Secretary Mona Valisno directed all school officials and employees concerned to institute and implement the necessary mechanism on the school discipline applicable under the situation.
Secretary Valisno said the school officials should monitor closely those students who are absent or cut class often. DepEd is aware of the prevailing situation that there are students in the elementary and secondary levels from public and private schools who go to computer shops, malls, theaters, and the likes during their class hours while in their school uniforms.
To carry out the ban effectively, Education Secretary Mona Valisno directed said school officials and teachers concerned to communicate and coordinate with their respective local government officials so that both parties could work on a possible enactment or implementation of the appropriate legislation to implement this. These legislations may be in the form of regulating the distance of computer shops, malls, theaters and the likes from schools, she added.
The directive may also be sent to the owners of these establishments not to allow entry of students during their respective class hours. The LGUs can ask the owners of these shops and malls to check first the class schedules of the student trying to enter the establishment, Secretary Valisno said.
Secretary Valisno said schools should accordingly provide their students with certified copies of their respective class schedules.
The Education Secretary also urged the school officials and teachers to provide their students with worthwhile and productive activities, particularly those that can enhance the creative and communicative skills such as debate or their creative skills such as dramatic activities and theatrical programs, which can be done during the free time of the students in school. (PIA
Elementary pupils get free meals in Barangay Hinakpan
By Jennifer Catan-Tilos
Dumaguete City (15 October) — A free meal feeding is set for 400 elementary pupils and parents on October 20 in Barangay Hinakpan, Guihulngan.
The one-time meal feeding for Hinakpan serves as one of the initiatives and efforts of the provincial government of Negros Oriental together with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) as part of the intervention to fight against hunger.
Based on the nutritional status of the school children in the barangay, Project Coordinator of the 6th Country Programme for Children (CPC6), Joy Gongob said the malnutrition is prevalent due to its rocky area and so vegetables and other root crops can hardly grow.
The Provincial Technical Working Group (PTWG) of CPC6 will give milk and prepare meals using available indigenous food materials that will provide at least one-third (1/3) of the recommended daily energy and nutrients intake for children.
Joining this year’s Stand Up and Take Action (SUTA) against poverty campaign and Children’s Month, Gongob said serving meals for free hopefully eases hunger to school children in the barangay.
Also with the creation of the Provincial Anti-Hunger Task Force under executive order no. 09-02, the different government agencies concern is urged to submit each anti-hunger mitigation program to the Governor’s Office for the consolidation and formulation of one provincial anti-hunger mitigation plan.
This is to facilitate and convergence of services and resources to widen reach among the poor and hunger households in the low-income municipalities in the province.
For the Stand Up campaign, it is set on Oct 16, 17 and 18 as its global mobilization of people to demand world leaders to deliver on their promise to end poverty by 2015.
For the fourth year in a row, millions of people around the world will Stand Up and Take Action to show their support for the fight against poverty and for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). (PIA/JCT) [
DepEd launches Brigada Eskwela Plus with Sec Lapus in Calbayog City
Calbayog City (12 October) — The Department of Education (DepEd), Calbayog City Division is set to launch Bigada Eskwela Plus with no less than Secretary Jesli Lapus in attendance.
In a radio interview over Radyo ng Bayan DYOG, DepEd City Superintendent Editha Paculan bared that Lapus will join Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento in Calbayog City, on Saturday, October 17.
The launch, said to be a nationwide move to step up the program which harnesses the partnership of over 43,000 public schools with their community stakeholders, aims to maximize the community’s potential for participation in the affairs of education through Brigada Eskwela Plus.
The Brigada Eskwela Plus shall focus on three main activities: school maintenance activities throughout the school year, community-led efforts to improve student participation and reduce the incidence of drop-outs, and community –led efforts to improve student performance.
Paculan added that other DepEd Programs implemented together with the community stakeholders will also be tackled, such as the Adopt-a School Program, Project Faces or Facilitating Access to Complete Elementary School, and the very successful Project “Sakay Na,” or Shuttle All Kids and Youngsters Needing Assistance of the city.
Also invited to this event are members of the Local School Board, Parents-Teachers’ Association presidents, all Punong Barangay, Barangay Kagawad and education committee chair, and SK Chairpersons.
Popular singer Yeng Constantino with the DepEd Calbayog City cultural group are expected to provide entertainment during the whole-day program which will be held at the City Sports Complex. (PIA-Samar/Eleen Lim, Radyo ng Bayan DYOG)
‘Seamless’ learning system eyed as platform of reform for RP
Iloilo (6 September) — A “seamless” education system is eyed as platform of reform for the country in the years to come.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she is pushing for this as part of her administration’s efforts to make Filipinos globally competitive, during her speech at the awarding ceremony of the 2009 Ten Outstanding Teachers.
Arroyo said this program dubbed by education experts as Main Education Highway framework toward a knowledge-based economy, is intended to remove the barrier between pre-school, grade school, high school and college.
The seamless education framework, apparently patterned after the learning system in the United States, allows any person of any age to enroll in any subject he wishes, where a high school student can at the same time take up college subjects.
Arroyo said she envisioned seamless education from basic pre-school education all the way to grade school and high school education, to vocational school or college to make the Filipino fit for whatever job and challenge life will bring his way.
She said government has been pouring in P3 billion for scholarship programs as part of carrying out reforms in education, especially to fund scholarships in science and engineering, which has so far enabled about 600,000 students to finish college, graduate and post graduate courses.
She added that government has also funded the Engineering Research and Development for Technology ERDT), a three-year program worth P3.5 billion.
The ERDT, which is a consortium of eight schools focused on engineering research on several areas, like information communication technology, semiconductor and electronics, energy, and environment and infrastructure. (PIA6/ESS)
DepEd cites NAT 2009 Top Achievers on Sept 3
Tacloban City (September 2) — The Department of Education through the National Education Testing Center is set to hold an awarding ceremony dubbed as “Moving Towards Excellence thru the National Achievement Test (NAT),” on Wednesday, September 3, at the Pearl Hall, SEAMEO INNOTECH Regional Center, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.
All DepEd Regional Directors, division Superintendent and Principals of recipient schools have been invited to attend the said activity. However, as to how they fared, what their respective awards will be, will only be known during the Awarding, Education Secretary Jesli A. Lapus informed during a press conference in his latest visit to Region 8.
Secretary Lapus will lead in the awarding ceremonies of the NAT 2009 Top Achievers, which will also be attended by other officials of DepEd including the DepEd Regional Directors, Division Superintendents and Principals of recipient schools.
The nationwide 2009 National Achievement Test (NAT) given in March 2009 was taken by 1.76 million pupils in some 33,582 schools. It is an annual examination used to determine public school students’ achievement level, strengths and weaknesses in key subject areas.
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said various reforms introduced in the country’s educational system by the Arroyo administration paved the way for the improvement in the results of the National Aptitude Test (NAT) from 43 percent in 2003 to 65 percent.
The National Achievement Test (NAT) is an examination given annually in March to assess the competency of both public and private school students.
The third and Grade 6 students’ knowledge and skills are tested in the subjects of Mathematics, English, Science, Filipino, and HEKASI. For high school, the students’ knowledge and skills are tested for Mathematics, English, Science, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan.
The test is administered by the Department of Education’s National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC). The results are intended to guide the Department of Education in its efforts towards the improvement of the quality of education in public schools and to provide appropriate intervention for the students. (PIA
