Monday, January 15, 2007 Public school teachers to take refresher course
IN ORDER to address the alleged deterioration of the quality of education in public schools, the Department of Education (DepEd)-Southern Mindanao will oblige teachers in English, Math, and Science to take refresher courses.
DepEd will also enhance the learning opportunity for children and teachers in public schools in collaboration with the Australian government through the Basic Educational Assistance for Mindanao project.
According to DepEd-Southern Mindanao director Diamar Kadon, the project aims to improve the quality and access to education.
Teachers and school administrators are also given the opportunity to travel to Australia and learn new teaching techniques that they can use here.
DepEd is also intensifying its "Do it and make a reader (Diamar)" project to increase the capacity of students in the public schools to read.
"A lot of students in the third and fourth grade still do not know how to read," Kadon said.
This problem, he said, allegedly defeats the purpose of procuring textbooks to reach a 1:1 ratio of textbooks to pupils.
"As of now we have almost reach 95 percent in providing textbooks to our pupils in the region," Kadon said.
Kadon is also very much pleased that there have been minimal reports of child abuses inflicted by the teachers.
"We keep on emphasizing to that it is prohibited to give the students any form of corporal punishment," he said.
He said that upon receipt of the complaint, DepEd investigates the incident. Should the teacher be proven guilty, depending on the gravity of the offense, he or she could face a reprimand, suspension, or even expulsion.
DepEd-Southern Mindanao was awarded as outstanding implementer of Alternative Learning System in 2006. (CPM)
