Deped meets with private lumad school

PASIG CITY -- The Department of Education (Deped), through DepedRegion 12, facilitated a coordination meeting with the Center for Lumad Advocacy and Networking, Inc. (Clans) last November 9.

The meeting, attended by Undersecretary for Legal Service Alberto Muyot, focused on facilitating the process of Clans schools to secure their permits to operate guided by Deped Order No. 21, s. 2014 (DO 21) or the Guidelines on the Recognition of Private Learning Institutions Serving Indigenous Peoples Learners.

“It is the responsibility of Deped to provide technical services not only to public schools, but also to private schools. . . It all comes down to the idea that we are all united in providing quality education for all,” Muyot told the teachers and coordinators of Clans.

Following the discussion of the requirements under DO 21, including those that Clans had difficulty complying with, it was agreed that the Deped Region 12 Office and the concerned Schools Division Offices will provide technical assistance to facilitate the submission of recognition requirements.

Also present were Deped Region 12 Director Arturo Bayocot, who committed to follow up with the concerned superintendents on the agreed timelines, and representatives from concerned SDOs.

Furthermore, Deped will continue building public schools to respond to the needs of learners especially those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs). In a separate meeting with Region XI officials, Muyot learned that IP community leaders affirmed the ongoing establishment of public schools in their communities. Regional data also show that the initiative has increased the participation rate of school-aged children in areas where schools were established.

Highlighting the Department’s mandate to provide quality basic education wherever there are children, Muyot stated: “Deped, under Secretary Briones, will work with them in the spirit of collaboration and partnership by encouraging and assisting them in applying for permits under DO 21.”

Deped is eyeing the expansion of these efforts to include other regions implementing IP Education (IPEd), and will continue to coordinate at the local level to enable the delivery of quality basic education relevant to the aspirations of IP communities. DEPED