MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Dec. 21 (PIA) -- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman bared the concrete gains his administration has achieved to improve the quality of education in the region.
In his first State of the Region’s Address on Tuesday, Hataman cited the educational reforms his administration has instituted that resulted to the eradication of ghost students and teachers and huge savings for the regional government.
He said the ARMM Government boldly addressed the problems of teachers regarding the payment of loans and benefits from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) by talking to and forging an agreement with the GSIS management.
The Department of Education (DepEd)-ARMM, he said, has settled the P5-million debts of the Marawi City Division and the P14-million debts of Basilan Division.
Hataman said they are now in the process of paying the some P1.9-billion debts of the department to the GSIS.
The Governor also announced that the DepEd-ARMM, in the implementation of financial reforms, has saved P224,227,269.90 which will be used in paying the salary differentials and backpays of teachers.
DepEd-ARMM has also generated P135 million that may be utilized for the repair of classrooms and purchase of school chairs, he added.
Citing statistics from the Enhanced Basic Education Information System, Hataman said the region lacked 5,057 classrooms, 3,479 teachers, and almost half billion of school chairs in 2011.
He, however, announced that DepEd-ARMM has launched programs and projects dubbed “37 Firsts of DepEd-ARMM” to raise the quality of education in the region.
Included in these are various support and training assistance from different organizations such as PLDT-SMART Foundation, SEAMEO-INNOTECH, Synergia, AMORE, AAI, UNICEF, GIZed-Fit For School, USAID and Ronald McDonald, as well as the construction of learning centers in remote areas by BRAC.
Hataman said the Australian government is also actively supporting the region and has provided P3.97 billion through the Basic Education Assistance for Muslim Mindanao Program which includes early childhood and basic education, school health, techvoc training for out-of-school youth.
The Governor also made mentioned that a total of 6,540 scholars are currently benefiting from the programs of the Technical Educational and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) while 607 are being served by the scholarship program of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). (APB/R10)
