DepEd seeking Malaysian help on Madrasah schools

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Education is seeking the assistance of Malaysia in mainstreaming all Madrasah schools in the country as a way to solve the conflict in Mindanao.

DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus, the elected president of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), said that during the SEAMEO Council Conference, which concluded yesterday, Malaysia offered scholarships to Muslim secondary students and training for teachers in providing the standard education while integrating Islam and Arabic language in the curriculum.

Lapus said that the Philippine delegates and other Muslim countries have learned from the Malaysia-Thailand experience in which Malaysia was able to contribute in solving the conflict in the southern part of Thailand.

Through education, understanding between the Muslim populations in Thailand was achieved resulting in peace and order.

“So we should avail of this similar situation in ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao),” Lapus said.

To realize this, the department needs to convert all Madrasah schools into regular schools under the DepEd supervision.

“We just want them to learn what our regular students are learning plus the inclusion of Arabic Language and Islam Values education in their curriculum,” said Education Undersecretary Vilma Labrador.

Lapus explained that mainstreaming of all Madrasahs will allow Muslim students to transfer to a regular public or private schools without any conflict.

“Because there are still a lot of Madrasahs not recognized by DepEd so when they want to transfer to a regular school, their previous education cannot be credited,” Lapus said, stressing that this is also a way to minimize the gap between Muslims and Christians in terms of education.

The mainstreaming of Madrasah schools is just one of the action plans of the SEAMEO as far as the government is concerned.

The recent council conference of education ministers from ASEAN and associated countries also resulted to the plan to create four additional SEAMEO regional centers in addition to the 19 existing centers across Southeast Asia.

One center to be installed in Malaysia will provide expertise for special education while the other three will be situated in Indonesia, which will offer expertise for the quality improvement of teachers in language, math and science.

“There will also be policy forums that will pursue regional study that will help improve early education in Southeast Asia. The beauty of this conference is the sharing of formulas,” Lapus said.

Lapus added that the teacher’s guide on climate change and the timeframe for implementation was also discussed.

SEAMEO was also able to come up with 10 collaborative projects to reach to the disadvantaged groups through its “Reaching the Unreached Program.”

Among the groups that the program will prioritize are students at risk of dropping out, ethnic groups, children from marginalized families, adults infected with HIV and children with difficult circumstances, among others. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/LPM   (FREEMAN NEWS)