New school subject: Accepting electoral defeat

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to include voter education, including acceptance of electoral defeat, in public schools nationwide.

“We are discussing the creation of a module or series of modules, which we will give to the education department and Commission on Higher Education for testing,” said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez.

The initial plan is to include voters’ education in the curriculum of third and fourth year high school students.

The Comelec, however, is also considering to include voters’ education in kindergarten believing values connected to the electoral exercise, like election defeat, should be taught at an early stage.

“As much as possible we want to start young with kindergarten or those belonging to 2.6 years and above because as you can see the most difficult to accept in electoral exercise is defeat,” Jimenez said. “So it would be better if at a young age (we learn) that in a democratic process one can win and another will lose. We intend to do it by using a mascot.”

Jimenez said the Department of Education (DepEd) will determine how the voters’ education modules can be incorporated in the curriculum.

Teachers will also be trained to put the modules in context.