BRIGADA ESKWELA: A MODEL OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Brigade Eskwela is a DepED program which is carried out every school opening. But if one were to take a closer look, rehash is nothing new in Philippine culture, it is but a return to or an adaptation of the ancient custom of Bayanihan. The term Boyanihan almost immediately conjures in one’s mind an image of rural men with bamboo pole supports mounted on their backs as they carry a 5/ hole nipa house on “lipat-bahay” mode. It also brings to mind a scene of a typical Amorsolo painting of men and women planting rice. Bayanihan is indeed a hallmark of Philippine communitarian spirit which we seemed to have lost in the last three decades.

Time was when planting, harvesting and pounding rice was a community effort wherein everyone in the village participated without having to be paid a regular wage. These days however, farm help has to be paid on a minimum wage basis. Even ordinary community work like cleaning ditches and canals and sweeping public areas, require the aid of helps for hire.

Silgado Eskwela is a welcome innovation by DepED for it riot only facilitates and lightens the otherwise tedious preparation work by public school administrators and teachers, it also helps revive and promote Bayanihan in these modern times. The picture of public school administrators and teachers, and parents and guardians and other private sector volunteers (corporations and NGOs) working together to help prepare the public schools for the opening of classes is encouraging. The administrators and teachers get to experience some reassurance that they are not alone in the task of preparing our young for the future. While the parents and guardians will feel a certain sense of responsibility by rendering some voluntary work as way of giving back to the State what their children) receive in the form of free public education. corporations, other business entities and NGOs on the other hand assist in the task of nation building private partnership at its best and for one of the primodial interest of society, that is, preparing our youth for the future.

— oOo— The author is Master Teacher I at Bitas Elementary School, Arayat West District