Molding youth to become vigilant consumers
May 1, 2007 | 12:00am
This is not to spoil students’ lazy summer vacation, but unimpeachable sources say that when classes open this June, high school students will have to tackle something else (in addition to books and teachers’ dirty looks?).
According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), students are expected to learn more about product quality and safety as DTI, partnering with the Department of Education (DepEd), wraps up the integration of principles on product standards in the school curricula.
We did our homework and here’s the inside story: At the 2nd Writeshop held last March by the DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS), the necessary modules and lesson plans on standards were deliberated, edited, and finalized for printing, in collaboration with DepEd’s Bureaus of Alternative Learning System and of Secondary Education, and with assistance from the Philippine Product Safety and Quality Foundation (PPSQF).
Undersecretary for Consumer Welfare Zenaida Cuison Maglaya notes that DTI has been pushing for this program as it sees the importance of molding the youth to become vigilant consumers who are conscious about the quality and safety of the products in their homes and on the market.
"We want to offer consumers the opportunity to learn about product standards starting at a young age so they can carry these lessons as they mature and, at the same time, help influence their families and communities against buying substandard goods," says Maglaya.
She stresses, "By raising the level of consumer awareness, we can eventually achieve a more empowered consumer society."
So, what’s this new subject all about?
According to Undersec Maglaya, four modules and seven lesson plans on standards had been prepared, focusing on products that are commonly used by consumers: compact fluorescent lamp, LPG cylinder, automotive battery, and flat glass.
These lessons are designed for high school students and "mobile learners" composed of out-of-school youth and adults who are unable to avail themselves of formal education, or persons with special needs.
In the March writeshop, experts from the DTI-BPS, DepEd and industry associations such as the Philippine Battery Manufacturers Association, Flat Glass Alliance of the Philippines, and LPG Industry Association incorporated the inputs and comments on the draft modules and lesson plans that were obtained during the validation or pilot test phase, which was previously conducted in select mobile community learning centers and secondary schools.
Says BPS Director Jesus L. Motoomull, "Now that the modules and lesson plans have been finalized, our next step is to train the teachers and instructional managers nationwide to familiarize and guide them with the new concepts presented in the teaching materials."
The trainers’ training program for the teachers and mobile instructors is set from April to May, while the final copies of the modules and lesson plans on standards are expected to be printed and disseminated before the start of the school year 2007-2008. By the third quarter of the year, the DTI, DepEd, and PPSQF will monitor the use of these modules and lesson plans on standards to further assess the effectiveness of the teaching materials.
"Ultimately, the extensive discussions on product standards and the importance of the Philippine Standard (PS) and Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) marks would enable students to distinguish safe and reliable products on the market," Motoomull muses.
Write on!
And the battle rages on We got e-mail all the way from the UK:
Dear Consumerline,
I am the policy director of Baby Milk Action, the UK member of the International Baby Food Action Network. I have been following the events in the Philippines with great interest and concern following my visit to Manila last November, so I was very pleased to see your important article ("The battle vs the bottle") highlighting the risks of artificial feeding of babies. It may interest your readers to know that this struggle to ensure parents are correctly informed is important in rich industrialized countries, too, and that many organizations are working to protect parents’ rights to truly independent information which is free from commercial influence.
In the UK, companies have been attempting to undermine WHO’s advice and are now using it to gain access to health workers in UK hospitals. Cow & Gate (a subsidiary of the Dutch giant Numico) has been distributing a paper to Infection Control nurses and offering to help them conform to government advice. The paper is full of half-truths and incorrect information and terminology, designed to appear responsible but fudging the real issue. For example, it claims formula is "intrinsically very safe" and that it’s more "practical" for parents to use cool boiled water and feed immediately, rather than water at 70 degrees  the single most effective decontamination step which WHO experts say could reduce the risk 10,000-fold. This example shows clearly why we need to guard against conflicts of interest.
For more information about Baby Milk Action’s work and our campaign to support the Philippine government’s attempts to regulate the marketing of breastmilk substitutes, see www.babymilkaction.org.
PATTI RUNDALL
According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), students are expected to learn more about product quality and safety as DTI, partnering with the Department of Education (DepEd), wraps up the integration of principles on product standards in the school curricula.
We did our homework and here’s the inside story: At the 2nd Writeshop held last March by the DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS), the necessary modules and lesson plans on standards were deliberated, edited, and finalized for printing, in collaboration with DepEd’s Bureaus of Alternative Learning System and of Secondary Education, and with assistance from the Philippine Product Safety and Quality Foundation (PPSQF).
Undersecretary for Consumer Welfare Zenaida Cuison Maglaya notes that DTI has been pushing for this program as it sees the importance of molding the youth to become vigilant consumers who are conscious about the quality and safety of the products in their homes and on the market.
"We want to offer consumers the opportunity to learn about product standards starting at a young age so they can carry these lessons as they mature and, at the same time, help influence their families and communities against buying substandard goods," says Maglaya.
She stresses, "By raising the level of consumer awareness, we can eventually achieve a more empowered consumer society."
So, what’s this new subject all about?
According to Undersec Maglaya, four modules and seven lesson plans on standards had been prepared, focusing on products that are commonly used by consumers: compact fluorescent lamp, LPG cylinder, automotive battery, and flat glass.
These lessons are designed for high school students and "mobile learners" composed of out-of-school youth and adults who are unable to avail themselves of formal education, or persons with special needs.
In the March writeshop, experts from the DTI-BPS, DepEd and industry associations such as the Philippine Battery Manufacturers Association, Flat Glass Alliance of the Philippines, and LPG Industry Association incorporated the inputs and comments on the draft modules and lesson plans that were obtained during the validation or pilot test phase, which was previously conducted in select mobile community learning centers and secondary schools.
Says BPS Director Jesus L. Motoomull, "Now that the modules and lesson plans have been finalized, our next step is to train the teachers and instructional managers nationwide to familiarize and guide them with the new concepts presented in the teaching materials."
The trainers’ training program for the teachers and mobile instructors is set from April to May, while the final copies of the modules and lesson plans on standards are expected to be printed and disseminated before the start of the school year 2007-2008. By the third quarter of the year, the DTI, DepEd, and PPSQF will monitor the use of these modules and lesson plans on standards to further assess the effectiveness of the teaching materials.
"Ultimately, the extensive discussions on product standards and the importance of the Philippine Standard (PS) and Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) marks would enable students to distinguish safe and reliable products on the market," Motoomull muses.
Write on!
Dear Consumerline,
I am the policy director of Baby Milk Action, the UK member of the International Baby Food Action Network. I have been following the events in the Philippines with great interest and concern following my visit to Manila last November, so I was very pleased to see your important article ("The battle vs the bottle") highlighting the risks of artificial feeding of babies. It may interest your readers to know that this struggle to ensure parents are correctly informed is important in rich industrialized countries, too, and that many organizations are working to protect parents’ rights to truly independent information which is free from commercial influence.
In the UK, companies have been attempting to undermine WHO’s advice and are now using it to gain access to health workers in UK hospitals. Cow & Gate (a subsidiary of the Dutch giant Numico) has been distributing a paper to Infection Control nurses and offering to help them conform to government advice. The paper is full of half-truths and incorrect information and terminology, designed to appear responsible but fudging the real issue. For example, it claims formula is "intrinsically very safe" and that it’s more "practical" for parents to use cool boiled water and feed immediately, rather than water at 70 degrees  the single most effective decontamination step which WHO experts say could reduce the risk 10,000-fold. This example shows clearly why we need to guard against conflicts of interest.
For more information about Baby Milk Action’s work and our campaign to support the Philippine government’s attempts to regulate the marketing of breastmilk substitutes, see www.babymilkaction.org.
PATTI RUNDALL
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