04/17/2008
Philippines pushes for reforms and gender equality in UNESCO

Since being elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2007, DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus continues to strongly call for internal reforms at the UN level to eliminate waste and duplication of functions in operations.

"For the global community to achieve Education for All (EFA) targets, we are supporting the UNESCO focus to channel its resources to field operations where the needs of member-states are greatest," Lapus said.

The United Nations is moving towards a unified and coherent structure under the framework of "Delivering as One." Various UN agencies are working in concert on a country-basis. The objective is to streamline projects for cost-effectiveness and to make sure that national education strategies are robust and in place.

For UNESCO, this means more experts will be assigned away from the headquarters to the regions. Its program and budget is shifting towards allocating more funds for technical assistance.

DepEd and key stakeholders are pursuing the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) that is yielding dramatic results. For the past two years, the education budget for basic education registered unprecedented increase. Last year, private sector corporate social responsibility money enlarged extra budgetary funding for public education by ten-fold. Annual classroom construction rate doubled and new teacher items created tripled.

Secretary Lapus is also pushing for gender equality and parity institution-wide. He noted that out of ten Assistant Director-Generals in UNESCO, only one is a woman. "In the Philippines, a significant number of women head businesses and occupy senior management positions, we are confident that many qualified women can be recruited especially from developing countries," he added.

04/17/2008
Simply, Jesli

We are happy that we are making a headway in our target of solving the shortage in school rooms. DepEd's yearly target of building 6,000 new classrooms was more than met when we were able to deliver 14,665 new constructed school buildings. But we still need to build more. More

02/27/2008
Graduation: the beginning of a journey to infinite possibilities

I salute the graduating class of 2008! As you celebrate the achievements borne by your diligence, perseverance, and dedication to your studies, I encourage you to look back with sincere gratitude to the institution that nurtured your quest for learning. More

3/6/2008

Lifelong Learning

In behalf of the Philippine Department of Education, I welcome the participants to the Regional Workshop on Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development. Welcome to Manila. Welcome to this workshop. More

2/28/2008

Enhancing School Governance: Making SBM Work

As leaders in the field of education, we are entrusted with the great responsibility of ensuring that our schools are run efficiently and the students - all 20 million of them -- under our care get the best education the State can provide. More

2/15/2008

Harnessing ICT in Education

Let me begin with a guessing game. What country is home to countless dedicated teachers, superior public and private schools and the best system of colleges and universities in the world and yet, in an information and technology-based global economy, this country has miserably failed to equip its young people and its workforce with the skills they need to succeed personally and support the competitive economy. More