Education secretary seeks changes in system

DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) Secretary Armin Luistro said changes should be done to improve the usual education system in the country.

Among the changes he will initiate or initiated already are inclusion of local cultures to the academic curriculum, use of locally made books, use of practical examples and tools during classes, use of indigenous materials, hiring local and indigenous teachers, and use of local dialect during classes.

He said he will mandate every local government to legislate ordinances to enforce these changes.

Luistro said teaching the local cultures and traditions of the people have a vital impact to the knowledge of the students.

He said teachers should start teaching the cultures prior to teaching any foreign knowledge to their pupils as a good start. “It’s good to start with what they (pupils) know like their cultures, but we need our council of elders to achieve this.”

He cited the hydroponics of the rice terraces, (if the people could study it closely) has an engineering strategy on it which made it look like a “stairway to heaven.”

On the other hand, Luistro further mentioned the art of weaving of the Cordillerans has algebra in it. “I challenge school teachers to come up with study topics related to riprapping, weaving and carving.”

Moreover, he also wants teachers to discuss local solutions to problems in the community which are usually experienced like landslides in Cordillera. He urged teachers to relate their topics to the recent situations of each place.

The use of the local language as Luistro stressed will facilitate better understanding between teachers and pupils, especially to beginner students.

The secretary criticized the current style of schools where teachers mostly buy expensive laboratory machines like microscopes. He also questioned some teachers buying books which teach the Filipino way but written by foreigners.

With this situation, Luistro said teachers should provide actual experiment that could be found even at anyone’s backyard rather than buying expensive machines. He also said books written by local writers must be used.

These are just few among the needed changes in the educational system which Luistro observed in the past years. He cited these observations during his visit in La Trinidad, Benguet last Jan. 11.

Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan committed to support these new modifications initiated by Luistro.