February is the month of love. How precisely does one mix love with education advocacy? This was a challenge for me. Last February 4, there was a signing of Memorandum of Agreement for Implementing Livelihood and Learning System (LLS) project between the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Columbio, Department of Education in Sultan Kudarat Division, Corn Board National, Ploughshares and E-Net Philippines. Two of the speakers both said something to this effect "we are here today because education is in our heart." When we say, it's in our heart, we work with love and in turn, we love our work.
Perhaps if all of us work passionately for education, the number of children, youth and adult missing an education in the Philippines will decrease. The nine million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 who are not functionally literate will be history and equally important, the almost six million school-age children and youth who are not in school will be given the education they deserve despite difficulties in life. In these day and age when most cannot do without celphone and internet, in our country there are still 4.1 million Filipinos who are still not able to read and write.
So, where and how does one manifest one's love for education?
Sometimes, we need to see what's happening at the local level to see how education advocates manifest this love. Currently, E-Net Philippines is implementing a pilot LLS project in two municipalities of Columbio and Tulunan in Central Mindanao and two municipalities of Paglat and Datu Paglas in Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao with 160 out-of-school youth whose lives have been affected by poverty and armed conflict. This intervention integrates the framework of "Learn to Earn, Earn to Learn".
In 2007, Education for Life Foundation and Quidan-Kaisahan implemented an Alternative Learning System program with child laborers in sugar cane plantations in four municipalities of Negros Occidental through a support from the International Labor Organization-IPEC. All over the country, there are many similar efforts to help realize the country "Education for All" goals. At the center of all these initiatives is both the urgency to help our children, youth and adults learn and at the same time love and live their life to the fullest.
There is a saying, we can learn to love or we can teach our heart to love. Perhaps if the decision makers in our national budget have more love for this country will never think twice about investing on education. As we all say, education is the best equalizer and strategy to eradicate poverty. If only legislators and the DepEd would allot the needed P5000 for every OSCY to get elementary or high school certification thru ALS and invest more than a billion every year to this program, then quality education would be more accessible to those who are not in school.
Every Filipino has a right to quality education. This February, let us have a toast for love for people and country and a toast for Education for All. |
