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DepEd Peace Movement in Mindanao

The Department of Education (DepEd), in its efforts to foster peace and respect for a diverse cultural society, as well as to develop a culture of peace in basic education system, has defined the DepEd Peace Movement in Mindanao. The Peace Movement is anchored on Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that peace education is directed to achieve the full development of the learners' total personality and to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Peace Movement aims to promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, multi-racial or religious sectors/groups. Likewise, it adopts the UNESCO's vision to develop culture of peace based on the universal values of respect for life, liberty, justice, solidarity, tolerance, human rights and equality between and among women and men.

To realize the objectives of this Peace Movement, all DepEd regional and division offices and schools/community learning centers are encouraged to undertake the following activities:
  1. Conduct of Advocacy and Social Mobilization for the Promotion of Peace Culture;
    • Conduct strong grassroots measures in schools and communities through the School Governing Council (SGC), the Parents-Teachers Associations (PTAs), and the Student Government Council (SGC) and networking with local organizations and with the special participation of Muslim adults and youth leaders focusing on the following messages/concepts:
      • importance of peace in the family, community, nation and the whole world, and recognizing schools as "zone of peace with no violent conflicts";
      • practicing the values of respect for life, liberty, justice, solidarity, tolerance, human rights and equality between women and men; and
      • recognition to families, barangays and civic organizations which are advocating peace in the communities.
    • Include Peace in the agenda of meetings with stakeholders: parents, local government units (LGUs), nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and other partners as part of the thrust in School-Based Management (SBM);
    • Conduct school-community advocacy classes/community learning center sessions for regular and fast learners in Muslim communities through the Alternative Learning System (ALS) and discussion of the following:
      • Unity among Filipinos (Muslims, Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and Christians alike);
      • Brotherhood of Muslims and Christians as active citizens and builders of the Filipino nation; and
      • Respect for multi-cultural diversities by developing tolerance and understanding their uniqueness and cultural values by all.
  2. Develop a School Climate/Learning Environment which Models the Culture of Peace;
    • Make every school a "zone of peace" where children are safe from violent conflicts, and teachers, school staffs and administrators by fully implementing the DepEd Child Protection Policy;
    • Implement the curriculum which emphasizes values of respect for life, liberty, justice, solidarity, tolerance, human rights and equality between women and men, understanding of peace and global issues by:
      • Distributing modules/lesson exemplars which contain more stories for children about Muslims, Christians and IPs and becoming their best of friends to instill respect and acceptance for the cultural/religious differences in day-to-day life, and by conducting culmination activities like essay writing, extemporaneous speaking, poster making, writing and singing musical pieces with peace as the theme;
      • Using teaching and learning methods which stress participation, problem-solving, creative and critical thinking skills, and respect for differences with equal opportunities for all pupils/students involvement regardless of religious beliefs; film/documentary viewing showing the effects of conflicts to the life of every people in the community, and discussing pupils'/students' perceptions and feelings on how to solve the problems;
      • Enabling children to practice peace-making in the educational setting and community like the organization of clubs which will promote peace activities (gift-giving of educational toys instead of guns, conduct of festival of talents among the Muslims, IPs, etc.) sponsoring Peace Village Activities (Peace Art/Peace Wall, Peace Reflections, Peace Congress) as initiated by Regions X, XI, XII, Caraga, and Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM);
      • Providing a forum for the explicit discussions of values of peace and social justice participated by school/learning center staff, teachers, and community advocates on peace culture; and
      • Strengthening the Madrasah and IP education in formal basic education and in the ALS.
    • Documenting best practices of the special programs like Mindanao Youth Peace Village and Peace Tech as Models of Peace Education for sharing and institutionalization; and
    • Adopting a regional/division policy that allows schools in identified conflict/war torn areas to modify the regular curriculum including Peace Education as one of the subjects or discuss weekly under Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao or Araling Panlipunan from Grade 1 onwards until the area is back to its normal situation.
  3. Conduct of Out-Reach Education Programs in Armed-Conflict Communities;
    • Conduct child-youth find campaign for Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) of education for Muslim out-of-school learners; and
  4. Provide mobile teachers with additional incentives who will be assigned to provide ADM to the out-of-school Muslim learners.
  5. Provide Seminars to all DepEd Personnel on Dealing with Conflicts which are effective, non-violent, and rooted in the local cultures and in ways which respect the rights and dignity of all involved.
  6. Promote Transparency and Efficiency in all Transactions in DepEd schools, divisions, regions and central office (CO) to avoid suspicions of corruption from the Muslim population and other disadvantaged groups.
  7. Ensure Appropriate Support Measures for Program Implementation in Affected Areas including additional financial allocation and other incentives such as training and skills development for both the regular and mobile teachers, among others.
The Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE), Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE) and the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) shall ensure that appropriate concepts, skills and values relevant to Peace Education are integrated in the K to 12 Curriculum. Learning resources on Peace Education developed by the bureaus and in the different national projects shall be made available to the regions, divisions and schools.

The Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS) shall provide the regions, divisions and schools with materials on Peace Education which have been procured or donated by nongovernment organizations (NGOs).
The Bureau Directors and Education Program Specialists (EPS) shall provide technical assistance when needed by the field offices.

Funds for the implementation of Peace Education activities shall be charged to the existing Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of the regions, divisions, schools and the bureaus subject to the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

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"DepEd Peace Movement in Mindanao" was written by Mary under the Philippine Government category. It has been read 1827 times and generated 0 comments. The article was created on and updated on 25 January 2013.
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