Education As A Continuous Process And Enhancer Of Opportunities

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 17, 2008) - As the saying goes, "education is a continuous process,” thus, re-tooling, re-inventing and re-engineering are some of the few words used to describe the activities and events undertaken by an organization to impart education to its target clients.

Just recently, the proposal of Sulu Governor Sakur Tan to send ulama in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to enhance their knowledge in the area of the shari'a law, philosophy, dialectical theology of Quoranic hermeneutics as part of a local education program through exposure is a case in point of education as a continuous process.

Similarly, the Department of Education has embarked on 'EXCELS' scholarship program for 1,600 public elementary and secondary school heads, nationwide, from November 2007 to July 2008 with the goal in mind to "continue the education process" especially to institutionalized sectors mandated to educate people. Here in Region-9, the program is set on February 27 to March 26 through iFLEX (or INNOTECH Flexible Learning Management System).

Experience, as best teacher pointed out to DepEd Sec. Jesli Lapuz that chunk of expenses were utilized for official travel than in directly teaching the marginal poor school children.

This experience resulted to the order of Sec. Lapuz for the adoption of measures and guidelines to cut travel cost. At the same time, DepEd's Bureau of Alternative Learning System (DepEd-BALS) called on all regional directors to be prompt in releasing the salary and other financial incentives of at least 1,381mobile teachers. A lesson learned that could be taken for granted is: "Give due credit to where it is due. After all, the mobile teachers are the ones deployed to deprived, depressed and underserved areas in the country to do alternative education to reach out all kinds of learners.'

Remarkably, the concerted efforts of DepEd-9, and the LGUs resulted in the improvement of the elementary school children in the National Aptitude Test (NAT), placing it this year at the 6th place from its 11th rank in 2004.

Finally, the continuous education process is also evident in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas system as it re-invents itself to push for the financial literacy campaign for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), teaching them how to use their hard-earned money wisely.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Gunigundo said they are going around the country to educate the families of OFWs on the facets of entrepreneurship and investing in different financial institutions, conducting lectures for them to become investors rather than mere consumers, so much so that the peso continues to appreciate against the dollar, short-changing the value of their remittances due to the lowering of foreign exchange rates.

Exposure trips, scholarships, virtue-laden living or paradigm shift of homemakers to entrepreneurship are proofs that education is as incessant as breathing.

The Arroyo Administration, cognizance of this continuous process of educating its citizens called on both chambers of Congress to immediately pass the proposed P1.227-trillion national budget for 2008 to avoid delay in the implementation of the government's priority projects and programs, with a budget allocation for education topping the list at P3.320 billion. (Philippine Information Agency/Mimi Edaga)