by Rene V. Carbayas
ISABELA CITY, Basilan May 28 (PIA) – The
Isabela City School Division has urged the public and private sectors to
continue to provide assistance to the different public schools in the city as
more schools are still in dire need of help.
City Division Coordinator of Brigada Eskwela
Eugenio Andrion, Jr. said that while the national schools maintenance week also
known as the Brigada Eskwela had just been conducted last week, the public and
the private sectors can still provide assistance within the year.
“The Brigada Eskwela did not end last week,”
he said in local dialect during, saying that some schools needed major repairs
in roofing, ceilings, and other fixtures as most of these school buildings were
old.
Andrion was guest at the Philippine
Information Agency’s radio program Noticias-Informaccion
con Musica over DXNO-FM Radyo Komunidad de Isabela City in Basilan.
He said that the Maintenance and Other
Operating Expenses (MOOE) of DepEd could not fully support the needed
maintenance that our public schools require. Moreover, DepEd is correcting the
notion that it is the sole job of the department to provide quality education
to Filipino children, saying that it is everybody’s concern.
“The Department of Education believes that
the education of the Filipino youth is everybody’s concern,” he said.
Over the years, the Brigada Eskwela effort
has evolved from a week-long cleaning-up and beautification exercise to a
festive coming together of students, teachers, school officials, parents,
community members, local government officials, non-government organizations,
church groups and the private sector.
It, too, has become one of DepEd’s major
initiatives in enjoining local communities to respond to the needs of public
schools and be part of a nationwide effort towards improving Philippine basic
education.
Andrion said that this was made possible by
the hard work and determination of school heads in finding innovative ways to
bring children to school, keep them there, and ensure that they will learn. “Brigada
Eskwela will not be what it is today, if it were not for the strong leadership
in our public schools,” he said.
While government is tasked to provide free
and quality education to every Filipino child and youth, the community where
they grow is an important stakeholder in their education. The private sector,
which will sooner or later employ these young Filipinos, is also an important
stakeholder in their education. The successful collaboration of all these
stakeholders is therefore pivotal in ensuring that Filipino children and youth
go to school, remain in school and learn in school. It poses a great challenge
to educational stakeholders.
It was with this spirit of volunteerism and
public-private partnership for education that Republic Act 8525, or the
“Adopt-A-School Act” was made in 1998. Through the Adopt-A-School Program
(ASP), private sector companies and professionals are given the opportunity to
contribute in improving the public education system of the country. To
recognize their goodwill, they can avail of tax incentives of up to 150%. Over
the years, the Adopt-A-School Program has attracted more than 200 partners,
generating some P6 billion worth of projects and interventions.