The provincial government is now “in the thick” of implementing an education reform program to raise the quality of learning in the province of Iloilo.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.’s education reform program BES Probins or the Bulig Eskwela sang Probinsya pushes for an effective, relevant, and transformative education system in the province of Iloilo.
It focuses on three priority areas – classroom shortage and reading proficiency problem, Voter’s Education Program, and Career Guidance and Counseling Program.
“Because in so far as we are concerned in the province of Iloilo, classroom shortage and our problem on reading proficiency are a matter of national emergency,” he said.
The provincial government is currently maximizing its Special Education Fund for the construction of classrooms in public schools to address the 400-schoolroom deficit and respond to their infrastructure needs.
Defensor said he aims to complete the construction of 400 classrooms before the end of his second term.
The provincial government, in partnership with the Department of Education and the University of the Philippines Visayas, will also soon launch a Career Guidance and Counseling Module to address the gap in the human resource needs of the country.
It is also in the process of completing a Voter’s Education Module together with DepEd to help the students become intelligent members of the electoral process.
Defensor said that despite it being not a devolved function of local government units, his administration takes full responsibility for the education system in the province.
“It is our mantra that the LGU in the province of Iloilo should treat education as a core function and responsibility, notwithstanding that it is not a devolved function,” he said.
The Education Reform Core Team of the province recently attended the Proof of Concept Workshop on the Decentralization of Basic Education in the province on February 19 to 20, 2024.
It was participated by the Local School Board members and facilitated by the Synergeia Foundation in partnership with the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) and the Regional Education Council.
The province of Iloilo is being considered as a pilot case for the devolution program.
(Capitol News)
#BESProbins #MoRProGResILOILO #MoRProGRes