DepEd leads Rizal Day fun run for education

MANILA, Philippines - Education Secretary Armin Luistro has called on the public to participate in today’s nationwide fun run for education, which the Department of Education (DepEd) is spearheading in celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

“All sectors of our society are most welcome to this commemorative fun run which will give them a chance to help our public school children in whatever way they can,” Luistro said.

Luistro said today’s fun run is different from the usual practice as participants will not be asked to pay registration fees. Instead, they can just give donations or sign a pledge form stating what they can contribute to upgrade the standard of education in public schools.

Luistro said DepEd needs all the support it can get from the public as it seeks to improve competencies of Filipino school children, and its determined bid to implement their ambitious K (Kindergarten) + 12 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) plan which seeks to establish an additional senior high school level in the country.

Participants can join any of the one, two or three kilometer walk or run.

The fun run begins at 6 a.m. at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta.

DepEd through its Adopt-A-School Program (ASP) will set up a booth for the acceptance of donations and to administer the pledge form. This will be replicated in all the regional and division offices nationwide.

Donations-in-kind could be school supplies (pencils, ball pens, ruled paper, notebooks, crayons, chalk, etc.); classroom furniture (chairs, tables, cabinets, etc.); equipment (fax machine, computers, printers, electric fans, etc.); classrooms; or shop equipment (for Industrial Arts, Home Economics, Agri-Fishing, etc.).

Volunteer man-days/labor support could be in the form of serving as a resource person for a particular subject; tutorial assistance; peer counseling; assistance to teachers (preparing visual aids, teacher aid); school maintenance and repairs; or teaching.