Progress and Beyond: A Good Practice Digest on Early Grade Education | Digest #2

Background
For the longest time, education was regarded as the sole responsibility of the Department of Education (DepEd) and its teachers. However, during the height of the restrictions and lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, challenges in the education service delivery required the concerted effort of DepEd, the local government, the private sector, parent-teacher associations (PTAs), and community leaders.

ABC+ had been working with Schools Division Offices and their counterpart LGUs to establish this multi-stakeholder approach to planning and investment programming. Two of these partner LGUs and DepEd SDOs are Tabaco City, one of the three component cities in Albay; and the Province of Antique in Western Visayas. Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro is one of Tabaco City’s foremost champions of lifelong learning. Governor Rhodora Cadiao of Antique, through Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Juliana Cepe, seeks to improve learning outcomes in the province.

Challenges
Tabaco City’s economy is heavily-reliant on agriculture with the production of major crops like rice and corn. Many of its young learners come from farming families struggling to make ends meet. During the heightened restrictions, some learners have limited access to gadgets and the internet to participate in online learning and have become at risk of dropping out from school. It was also reported that learning modules needed improvement to address students’ comprehension. 

Antique, on the other hand, has 18 municipalities with some barangays (villages) in very remote areas. Delivering learning modules and participating in online learning were very challenging. Malnutrition and hygiene among learners is also a concern especially in the municipalities of Patnongon, Culasi, and Valderrama where access to potable water is limited.

“The role of the local planning development office is very vital. We are the mobilizers that ensure that all stakeholders…contribute to strengthening basic education. I encourage other local government units to own the (education sector mechanism) process by integrating it into [their] own development plans.”
-Juliana Cepe, Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Province of Antique

Solutions
The leaderships of Tabaco City and Antique Province were instrumental in gathering various stakeholders to be more engaged in interventions that will improve learning outcomes of Filipino children in their respective localities. Through the Education Sector Mechanism (ESM), a rigorous, multi-phased, and evidence-based process that was based on both the DepEd and the LGU local planning processes and implemented by The Asia Foundation for the USAID ABC+ Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines project, education has become a community effort.

The mechanism was local education governance in action in responding to concrete problems faced by learners and their families. It institutionalized shared responsibility and accountability among the local government, DepEd, private sector, various agencies, and other stakeholders. Through the ESM, the LGUs and DepEd Schools Division Offices (SDO) with the help of other stakeholders identified the different challenges in the education service delivery using data and evidence, formulated key strategies and targets, and mapped out possible investments and resources to help achieve their desired outcomes.

“Everything that happens to us happens for a reason to improve us… We are teaching our children to think and develop the passion to learn something new every day as lifelong learners.”
-Hon. Krisel Lagman-Luistro, Tabaco City Mayor

Results
After months of undergoing the ESM process, both LGUs and their DepEd SDO counterparts were able to identify key challenges and priority interventions for education that can be integrated into their respective investment programs and development plans. The process allowed the expansion of sources of support beyond the DepEd budget and the special education fund or SEF.

In Tabaco City, for instance, Mayor Lagman-Luistro lauded the commitment of the private sector to work hand-in-hand with the LGU and DepEd in seeking to provide ample learning materials such as books and school supplies as classes return to face-to-face learning. The private sector and other civil society organizations have become institutionalized partners through this mechanism.

In Antique, Ms. Cepe emphasized the need to improve nutrition and hygiene among learners in schools which affect their focus in learning. Through the ESM process, Antique will be prioritizing the construction of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities especially in schools that have no access to proper comfort rooms and running water. This intervention will be integrated into the provinces’ and municipalities’ investment programs. Aside from this, Antique will also be expanding their mobile reading hubs to its 22 districts to inspire literacy among young learners. 

It really takes a village to raise a child. Through the ESM with the local government as champion, early grade Filipino learners are able to receive support to ensure learning continuity beyond the classroom.

To learn more about the good practice, contact:

Local Government of Tabaco City
(052) 732-7527 local 3031, 3039, 3036 [email protected]

Antique Provincial Planning and Development Office
[email protected]

You can also contact the ABC+ Project:

Region V: Melanie Sebial ([email protected])
Region VI and BARMM: Luisito Gelmo ([email protected])