By Franklin P. Gumapon
PAGADIAN CITY – In keeping with the government’s goal to strengthen the educational program for the country’s cultural minorities, the Department of Education (DepED)-9 is slated to hold a forum with the stakeholders on Feb. 20-21, 2014 at the Bay Plaza Hotel this city.
The two-day activity aims to provide the Indigenous People (IP) community representatives a venue to work on addressing/resolving IP education issues and concerns. It also seeks to come up with certain guidelines on partnerships between and among IP communities and other private-public stakeholder groups, and to discuss ways to concretize understanding of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) and Indigenous Learning System (ILS) among stakeholders.
It can be recalled that DepED-9 had already met with the IP stakeholders in November last year to initially discuss the ISKPS and ILS among IPs in the region.
Expected to attend the said forum are IP community/tribal leaders, representatives from national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs) and other civic organizations.
In Zamboanga Peninsula, the IPs are composed of Subanens, Kalibugan, Samal, Yakan and Badjau. The Subanens are the largest tribal group in the region whose communities straddle the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay and Misamis Occidental.
