Br. Armin Luistro FSC: Man on a mission

When Br.  Armin Luistro FSC became Department of Education Secretary and announced that the goal of the P-Noy administration was to make the Philippine public school system world-class, it really seemed like a Mission Impossible. First there was a need to increase the basic education program from ten to 12 years, which was the minimum length even for almost all of the developing countries.

Then there were the severe shortages in the five learning inputs due to neglect during the past administration. The shortages in 2010 were 66,800 classrooms, 145,827 teachers, 2,573,212 school seats, 62,441,000 learning materials and 138,847 water and sanitation facilities.

When he was first approached in 2010 to accept the position while he was president of De La Salle University, Br. Armin’s first instinct was to decline and offer his assistance to find a more suitable person. But the emissary asked him to think about it and to pray.

Then began a six-week agonizing ordeal that Br. Armin calls “a real discernment exercise.” He said that most of those he consulted advised him not to accept. The most critical were the other La Salle Brothers.

In a previous administration, another Christian Brother, Br.  Andrew Gonzalez FSC had accepted the position of DepEd Secretary. He became involved in some controversies which, unfortunately, had dragged the name of the congregation and La Salle schools.

The strange coincidence is that when Br. Andrew decided to serve in government, it was Br. Armin who was head of the Philippine Congregation of La Salle Brothers and the one who gave the permission and made all arrangements with the mother house in Rome.

But there were two things that finally convinced him to accept. He felt that after “ranting about what was wrong with the system and the education sector, and I am offered to fix what I thought was wrong and declined, I don’t think I’d be able to face myself in the mirror.”

He also told me a story that once he woke up in the middle of the night and saw the face of a highly respected bishop. The next morning he visited the bishop who advised him to accept the position and said he would pray for him.

But I also think it is because Br. Luistro belongs to a religious congregation whose primary mission is education. In fact, its founder was the inventor of the classroom style of teaching.

When he became DepEd Secretary in 2010, he had to face a major challenge along with many of P-Noy’s appointees — an environment of general hopelessness, that nothing can be done to save this country. This feeling was especially strong, he admits, when it came to the public school system. “There was this sense of frustration and desperation, as well as the experience of leaders who had raised hopes and just frustrated whatever dreams people had.“

The K to 12 reform program essentially aims to make the Filipino public school graduate globally competitive while remaining Filipino.  But when it was announced in October 2010, there was much criticism. One reaction was that it had been tried before and never succeeded; that when it became too hot a political issue, Malacañang would always intervene and the program would be dropped.

But if one really looks at the reform as adding two more years of basic education, the K-12 is new only in name. On July 28, 1949, a UNESCO Consultative Educational Mission to the Philippines submitted an extensive report. One of the general conclusions was:

“The program of six years in the elementary school and four years in the secondary school does not seem adequate for a common school period. Eventually, this should be extended to at least 12 grades, with compulsory attendance in the elementary grades and free schooling for those desiring it in the secondary grades.”

When the UNESCO mission used the word “eventually,” I am sure they never thought it would take more than 60 years. But at least after 63 years, the 12 grades of basic education has finally become a law.

When I asked Br.  Armin how he was able to convince P-Noy to support what is viewed as a radical program which initially received much criticism, his answer was also an insight on P-Noy’s vision for the country:

“My only answer is that it was a confluence of many factors and a convergence of our meetings in the Cabinet and the directions of the President to really push for substantial reforms. If there is any theme that the President has been consistent about, it is always that if we are going to do something, make sure it is substantial and strikes at the root of the problem, rather than something that is popular but will not really make a substantial change on the system or benefit the people.

“So we thought this is not just a political agenda, it is not about earning votes. It’s about what legacy we will leave behind... so whatever we’re doing, classroom construction for example, the President’s question is ‘will all these buildings we’re putting up last beyond our term and hopefully for decades to come?’ It would be easy to do shortcuts and build double the number of classrooms we are building now, but not ensure they are sturdy and will outlast us all.”

I will discuss the specific benefits of the K to 12 program and the use of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education in a future column. For today, let me end with the first item on a general memorandum sent to everyone who has invited Secretary Luistro to attend their events:

“It is the humble request of the Secretary that in lieu of plaques, posters and other tokens, voluntary donations be made to TEN Moves, a DepEd supported campaign that aims to raise enough resources to build 10,000 classrooms. Please visit www.tenmoves.org for more information.”

During President Aquino’s speech at the dedication rites of the Corazon Aquino Democratic Space and the Henry Sy Sr. Hall at De La Salle University, after acknowledging how much Br. Armin has done for the country in education, he ended by saying, “It is good to note, because we don’t tend to praise ourselves too much, but probably in the next installment of Mission Impossible, we will see Br. Armin in a starring role.”

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Email: elfrencruz@gmail.com