Pilot Implementation of Checkmyschool.org Synchronized Community Validation of School Services Information

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP) through the Ateneo School of Government (ASG) as its Secretariat on Check My School Initiative was signed on January 14, 2011. Please see Enclosure No. 1, for the copy of this MOA. The Department of Education (DepEd) extends its support and cooperation to this Initiative which is seen as a complementary mechanism in monitoring the delivery of education services to the schools. It provides complementation by: (a) linking community volunteers with schools in collecting, validating and reporting information; and (b) providing a third-party platform for database management. The Pilot Implementation of the checkmyschool.org's Synchronized Program for community validation of school services information shall be conducted for two weeks from August 22 to September 2, 2011. Please see Enclosure No. 2 for the specific activities and schedule. The synchronization plan shall have the following sets of activities:

1. volunteer orientations;
2. launch through Fun Run in selected sites;
3. two-week validation; andreporting and closing.
   

The synchronized community validation exercise aims to:

1. enhance the integrity of DepEd information;
2. involve the community in school governance through monitoring of educational services; an
3. facilitate better coordination and communication between DepEd regional, division, district and school offices, and the volunteers and community members who will assist in the activity.
   

The 14 pilot sites for the validation exercise are the following:

1. National Capital Region (NCR);    
2. Pampanga;
   
3. Pangasinan;
   
4. Rizal;
5. Baguio;
6. Benguet;
7. Tacloban City;
8. Leyte;
9. Zamboanga City;
10. Pagadian City;
11. Cebu City;
12. Iloilo;
13. Davao City; and
14. North Cotabato.

All school heads (SHs), school district supervisors, schools division/city superintendents (SDSs) and regional directors (RDs) are encouraged to be actively involved in this validation activity.

For more information about the Check My School Initiative, please contact Ms. Jecel Censoro at telephone nos.: (02) 426-6062 or at mobile phone no.: 0908-8827-831 or send a message through e-mail address: jecen88@ansa-eap.net or visit the website address at www.ansa-eap.net. Kindly see Enclosure No. 3 for the Frequently Asked Questions.

---

Enclosure No. 1

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:

This Memorandum of Agreement (the "Agreement") entered into and executed by and between:

The DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DepED), an institution duly organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, having its principal place of office at Meralco Avenue, Pasig City, represented by its Undersecretary, HON. FRANCISCO M. VARELA, hereinafter referred to as the "DepED";

- and -

The ATENEO SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT, which serves as secretariat of the AFFILIATED NETWORK FOR SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, whose secretariat is currently based in the, with principal office at Pacifico Ortiz Hall, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights Quezon City, represented by the Dean, DR. ANTONIO G.M. LA VINA, hereinafter referred to as the School's "ANSA-EAP";

WHEREAS, the Philippine government aspires to bring every single child to school and give them opportunity to quality education in line with the United Nation's Millenium Development Goal No. 2 or the `Universal Primary Education for all'.

WHEREAS, the School's ANSA-EAP champions social accountability as citizens' constructive engagement with government in order to improve the delivery of public services, promotion of welfare and protection of rights.

WHEREAS, the "Check My School" Project is an interactive map that provides the public with information on the condition of education services and facilities. It has school information on enrolment, budget, teachers, textbooks, seats and achievement test results;

WHEREAS, all parties officially recognize the "Check My School" as a joint social accountability undertaking of the DepED and the ANSA-EAP;

WHEREAS, all parties have underscored the need for a systematic web-based public information facility on education services that is easily accessible and user-friendly and facilitates citizens' engagement with government to improve such services;

WHEREAS, all parties involved recognize the role of citizens and citizens' groups in providing feedback to government agencies to help promote transparency and social accountability and raise the quality of governance in the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the above premises, all parties agree on the following terms and conditions as follows:

1.0    Responsibilities of the Parties

1.1    The DepED shall

1,1.1 assign a specific person to coordinate with ANSA-EAP for the Check My School initiative in the following offices: Basic Education Information System (BEIS), Procurement Service (PS), Physical Facilities and Schools Engineering Division (PFSED), National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC), Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS), and the Budget Office to coordinate with ANSA-EAP for the Check My School initiative.

1.1.3 provide ANSA-EAP all available school data and information relevant to the implementation of the project, which include enrolment, teachers, textbooks, school buildings, furniture, proficiency rating, among others from the DepEd offices. namely Central, Regional, Division, District and school offices;

1.1.4 provide ANSA-EAP a briefing-orientation on available database systems in the department;

1.1.5 co-organize with ANSA-EAP the conduct of consultations with
selected schools about the plans for implementing the project;

1.1.6 coordinate closely with ANSA-EAP in validating information encoded in the website.

1.1.7 co-organize with ANSA-EAP the conduct of the launching of the Check My School website.

1.1,8 co-organize with ANSA-EAP the conduct of promotions for the website, checkmyschool.org.

1.1.9 receive, respond to and act on feedback, comments and recommendations made by citizens through the Check My School website.

1.1.10 ensure the Regional, Division, District offices and school's cooperation in the Check My School initiative through a Memorandum Order from the Secretary, which will:

1.1.10.1. endorse the Check My School initiative to them;

1.1.10.2. request them to provide ANSA-EAP and/or accredited volunteer organizations the latest updated data from the schools in their respective jurisdictions;

1.1.10.3. request them to partner and coordinate with selected computer schools and/or volunteer organizations that will help gather and encode the information in the website;

1.1.10.4. request them to receive, respond to and act on feedback, comments and recommendations made by citizens through the Check My School website;

1.1.10.5. request them to coordinate and support the partners of the Check My School website who will update and contribute to the website.

1.2 The ANSA-EAP shall

1.2.1    present to DepED the design and implementation plan of the Check My School initiative;

1.2.2    take charge of the design and development of the Check My School website;

1.2.3    coordinate with the assigned DepED liaison offices about the relevant details of the implementation of the initiative;

1.2.4    ensure the accurate presentation of the DepED's information in the Check My School website;

1.2.5    organize consultations with selected schools about the plans for the implementation of the initiative;

1.2.6    organize the launching of the Check My School website;

1.2.7 promote the use of the website to various civil society, business, school, educational institutions, media and community-based organizations, and to the public, in general;

1.2.8 set up the partnership and coordination system between the DepED local offices and the volunteer organizations, especially the computer schools that will help in data-encoding;

1.2.9    coordinate the launching and the promotional campaigns through local road shows;

1.2.10 send to DepED consolidated report of feedback and comments generated through the Check My School website;

1.2.11    be responsible for maintaining the checkmyschool.org website;

1.2.12 monitors and evaluates the progress and outcome of the Check My School project;

1.2.13    report to the public vital information as well as insights and lessons of
implementing the Check My School initiative;

1.2.14 cover all costs that will be incurred from the design and development of the Check My School website to coordinating, implementing and promoting activities related to Check My School.

2.0 Non-Waiver - The failure of either party to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver or limitation of that party's right to subsequently enforce and compel strict compliance with every provision of this Agreement.

3.0 Severability - If any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and enforceable.

4.0 Amendment - This Agreement shall not be altered, changed, supplemented or
amended except by written instrument signed by the parties hereto.

5.0 Assignment - No party may assign any right or obligation under this Agreement, or any contract supplementary hereto, to a third party, without the prior written consent of the other parties. The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and accrue to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.

6.0 Confidentiality - The parties shall not, prior to the evaluation, publicly disclose
the findings of the project and inspection.

8.0 Governing Law - This Agreement shall be construed under and governed by the
laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

9.0 Agreement Effectivity - This Agreement shall take effect upon the date of execution and shall remain in full force and effect for a period of twelve months (12) months, unless extended by mutual consent of the parties.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date and in the place written in the acknowledgment.

For the Department of Education:      For Ateneo School of Government's ANSA East Asia and the Pacific:

(Sgd) FRANCISCO M. VARELA                 (Sgd) ANTONIO G.M. LA VI­­ÑA
Undersecretary                                        Dean, Ateneo School of Government
Department of Education                           Executive Committee Member, ANSA-EAP

---

Enclosure No. 2

Pilot implementation of checkmyschool.org's synchronized community validation of school services information

Rationale
In view of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Ateneo School of Government's' ANSA East Asia Pacificc, signed on 14 January 2010, the Department of Education extends its support and cooperatrion to the checkmyschool.org initiative. The Department recognizes the checkmyschool.org as a complementary mechanism for monitoring the delivery of education services to the schools. It provides complementation by (a) linking community volunteers with schools in collecting, validating and reporting information, and (b) providing third-party platform for database management

Objectives
The objectives of the synchronized community validation exercise are:

1. To enhance the integrity of DepED information.
2. To involve the community in school governance through monitoring of education services,
   

Synchronization Program
Schools, in cooperation with checkmyschool.org communities, shall devote two weeks for a start-of-school-year validation of their data. The target date of the pilot implementation is August 22 to September 2, 2011.

Conditions

1. The School Head shall co-operate with the checkmyschool.org community coordinator in overseeing the data validation activity.
2. The data validation activity should not interfere in the classes and regular schedule of school events,
3. The school and the checkmyschool.org volunteers should not solicit cash donations for the activity. Only in-kind and service donations shall be solicited and accepted for the activity,
4. The school shall open all sources of information to the checkmyschool.org volunteers.
5. The checkmyschool.org volunteers, in cooperation with the BETS and ICT coordinators, shall gather, encode, and check data from the activity, and eventually upload in the website_
6. The checkmyschool.org volunteers will be given an endorsement letter and ID card,
7. The Department's school data are the only official data; the checkmyschool.org data remain unofficial unless certified by the Department. The checkmyschool.org data, however, may always be used to point out possible major discrepancies and inaccuracies in the Department's data for verification and/or problem-solving purposes.
8. The two-week-long school data validation activity shall also be used to raise community awareness on the importance of access to information on public services.
   

Plan of Activities

The synchronization plan will have the following sets of activities:

1. Groundwork
2. Launch through Fun Run in selected sites 
3. Two-week validation Reporting and closing
   

Groundwork

1. Infomediaries recruit page admin volunteers from organizations and the public,
2. The volunteers will be matched with the target schools.
3. The volunteers will be oriented about the conduct of the synchronized validation activity.
4. The infomediaries and the volunteers;.will coordinate with target schools regarding the conduct of the synchronized validation activity.
5. Infomediaries and volunteers visit schools to meet the Principals and orient the community members who will be tasked to conduct the validation.
6. lnfomediaries and volunteers coordinate with schools on the preparations for the conduct of validation.
   

Launch through Fun Run in selected sites

1. Set event on Sunday prior to the two-week validation activity,
2. Advertise event.
3. Conduct "Fun Run" launching activity.
   

Two-week validation

1. The validation activity shall be announced during the Monday flag ceremony, which will include a short program to explain its purpose and relevance to the entire school community, especially the students, parents and teachers.
2. Community members shall ask school official for BETS reports and other documents with reports with data on (a) enrolment, (b) personnel, (c) textbooks, (d) seats, (e) rooms, (f) toilets, (g) test results, (h) computers, (1) budget,
3. Community members use the checkmyschool.org's elementary and high school data forms.
4. Community members follow set schedule for validating data on (a) enrolment, (b) personnel, (c) textbooks, (d) seats, (e) rooms, (f) toilets, (g.) test results, (h) computers, (i) budget.
5. Community coordinator sets date for, the review and consolidation of all collected data. The infomediaries and volunteers may join.
   

Reporting and Closing

1. Infomediaries and/volunteer page administrators visit schools.
2. Community coordinator transmits copy of the report to the School Principal, LGU, infomediaries and/or volunteer page administrators
3. Community coordinator announces validation results to Monday flag ceremony one week after the validation activity.
4. Validation report is posted in school bulletin board.
   

Schedule

Date	Activity
June 13 - July 8, 2011	Recruit school page admin volunteers
July 9	Orient recruited volunteers
July 11-22	School coordination re-conduct of validation
July 30	Visit school to introduce CMS
August 6	Visit school and orient school community members
August 8-20	School preparations
August 21	Fun Run
August 22 - September 2	Synchronized school validation activity
September 10	Visit school to pick up data
September 12	Reporting and closing

The activities within June 13 to August 20 are flexible and are subject to modifications by the local infomediaries.

Pilot Sites

NCR
Pampanga
Pangasinan
Rizal
Baguio
Benguet
Tacloban City
Leyte
Zamboanga City
Pagadian Cit
Cebu City
Iloilo
Davao City
North Cotabato

- https://www.affordablecebu.com/