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EDCOM 2, DepEd to hold nationwide mapping of private schools

MANILA: The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) and the Department of Education (DepEd) have forged a milestone partnership to map all private schools in the country to inform government policies and programs related to the complementarity of public and private education institutions.

“As Congress deliberates on measures to expand the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE), this mapping will go a long way towards ensuring that government resources are invested strategically, optimizing both public and private capacity in delivering quality education to all,” EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee said in a news release on Monday.

“While mapping of public schools was previously conducted by DepEd and OpenStreetMap, this is the first time that DepEd will do a comprehensive mapping of all private schools across the country– a critical next step in furthering its recently released policy, DepEd Order No. 6, series of 2024, on the public and private ba
sic education complementarity framework,” Yee said.

During the initial meeting last June 18, DepEd was represented by Assistant Secretary for Operations Francis Cesar Bringas, Tara Rama, Director Gemma Ledesma, and Marieta Atienza.

Also supporting this effort are the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) led by its Executive Director, Doris Ferrer, and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines (COCOPEA), led by its Executive Director John Jacome.

Building on the previous efforts of both DepEd and the private sector to generate a comprehensive dataset of public and private schools, EDCOM 2 will work with DepEd and private school partners from all regions of the country to collect and validate the location data of 12,212 private schools based on DepEd Basic Education Information System data throughout the month of July.

According to EDCOM 2, analysis of public and private school location dataset will help determine if the current backlog in classrooms and/or the
congestion in public schools could be addressed through the provision of vouchers or subsidies to nearby private schools.

The partnership is also set to fast-track the collection and validation of data of private schools in the National Capital Region, Region 4-A (Calabarzon), and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; and areas determined to have the most severe overcrowding in elementary and junior high schools based on classroom to learner ratios.

“We need to make sure that resources allocated to Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education are allocated and spent optimally with the goal of decongesting public schools and helping the poorest learners,’ EDCOM 2 co-chairperson Senator Win Gatchalian said.

‘Mapping where our private schools, congested public schools, and poorest learners are should help us to be more efficient in the use of resources,” he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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Vietnamese culture, cuisine shine at Italian ethnic culture festival

The Vietnamese culture and cuisine were introduced at the 16th Bagnara ethnic culture festival in Bagnara di Romagna commune of Italy’s Ravenne province from June 27 – 30. This is the sixth time Vietnam has joined in the festival, but this year, aside from cuisine, for the first time, the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy and the Vietnam-Italy Cultural Bridge Association organised a photo exhibition about the country’s landscapes, people, culture, costumes, and musical instruments.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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Cebu prelate says divorce will cause more harm, especially to children

CEBU CITY: The Roman Catholic Church in Cebu continued to rally support here to oppose the passage of the absolute divorce bill.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma released a letter Monday, saying that divorce will not solve broken and irreparable marriages.

He likewise stressed that declaration of nullity is sufficient in addressing troubled marriages.

‘I appeal to all the faithful of the Archdiocese of Cebu to join hands in our effort to make it known that we do not accept divorce due to the damage it will inflict, not only on us Catholics, but on our values as a nation,’ Palma said.

The prelate, who leads 4.8 million Catholics in the archdiocese covering the province and three highly urbanized cities, said that divorce may bring more harm, particularly to the children of spouses.

‘Be aware that divorce will redefine marriage by eliminating permanent character. It is not true that divorce will not harm anyone. Studies show that children suffer most in a divorce,’ the prelate pointed out.

The letter was also p
rinted on tarpaulins placed on the front gates of Roman Catholic churches in the province.

The Philippines is the only country outside the Vatican that does not acknowledge divorce.

The House of Representatives has approved the measure but is still pending in the Senate.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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President attends debut of grassroots security and order protection force in HCM City

President To Lam attended a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on July 1 to make the debut of the security and order protection force at the grassroots level. The force, established by local authorities on a voluntary basis of people, comprises part-time communal public security personnel, guards of residential areas, and wardens. The event saw around 1,000 members from the force participate in a parade and live drills to demonstrate their capabilities in handling complex security and order situations.

Source: Vietnam News Agency