LOCAL government units (LGUs) in Mindanao must prioritize education if they want to give their constituents a better chance of breaking the cycle of poverty.

This is a call for the chiefs of the local government which is the home to two-fifths of the country's poor according to the World Bank (WB) report Making Growth Work for the Poor. The data will prove areas where there is little access to education, the greater the poverty incidence.

The Synergeia Foundation, in partnership with USAid, PLDT, and Smart Communications has an Annual Event recognizing municipalities and cities for their outstanding efforts in the field of education.

The Foundation presented data from the Family Income and Expenditure survey of 2015. It showed that the likelihood of poverty among families headed by persons with no education is 46.7 percent; elementary graduates is 20.7 percent; high school graduates is 9.3 percent; and college graduates is 1.4 percent.

The figures clearly show the connection between education and poverty.

During the awarding, six LGUs got a Seal award in Mindanao out of the 34 recognized in the whole country. The recipients met the Synergeia's criteria for good education governance. They ensured the active participants of their local school boards (LSB) and School Governing Councils (SGC). They were able to reduce the number of non-readers and frustrated readers in their locality by at least 20 percent. They also surpassed the national average of 80 percent for cohort-survival rate. Percentage of first graders who went on to sixth grade and increased their budgets for education.

The LGUs were able to meet the challenges with enthusiasm by using their budgets. They have built 500 classrooms in five years and came up with new campuses for at least 10 high schools. Way back in 2013 there were only makeshift classrooms lacking in furniture like desks and tables, blackboards, light, and ventilation - all not conducive to effective learning.

Seal recipients will get customized tools from PLDT and Smart. They will provide the Infocast, a web-based solution that will allow the LGU to broadcast announcements and receive Feedback via text message.

The technology package also includes the Smart School-in-a-Bag which contains a solar panel to serve schools without electricity, mobile devices with curriculum - based educational content, teacher training, monitoring, and evaluation.

These hands-on learning is very crucial especially among millenials. This is relatively new in Mindanao and we need to catch up to be at par with the rest of the whole country.

The dream is to make the whole country to get an education to break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty.