World Bank OKs $110-M loan for Mindanao teachers upskilling program

MANILA  -The World Bank has approved a $110-million loan that would support the Philippine government’s efforts to upskill 60,000 elementary school teachers in Mindanao, especially those in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The funding is for the Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (Teacep), which is expected to also benefit two million pupils.

Teacep is aimed at improving learning outcomes for children in kindergarten to Grade 6 by providing teachers with opportunities in professional development through a comprehensive coaching and professional development program.  Through this project, school officials and supervisors will also receive training to enable them to better support and guide teachers in their teaching practices.

“Education is a key driver of development, as it equips people with the knowledge and skills they need to participate in the workforce, contribute to the economy, and improve their standard of living,” said Ndiamé Diop, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.

Diop said in a statement Teacep formed part of the World Bank’s continuing support to boost human capital in the Philippines.

The multilateral lender noted that, over the past 10 years decade, the Philippines has increased investments in basic education and seen improvements in enrolment. Government spending on education increased in terms of its proportion to economic output or gross domestic product, to 3.7 percent in 2020 from only 2.3 percent in 2010.

However, learning outcomes remained weak and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this predicament. With the pandemic over, the Department of Education has been focusing on learning recovery and acceleration.

Teacep is intended to contribute to the DepEd’s latest initiative, which introduces National Reading and Mathematics Programs to build foundational literacy and numeracy.

To improve access to quality learning, especially among the most disadvantaged students, the project will also support provision of digital materials and physical resources, such as tablets, to students, teachers, and coaches.

“Focusing educational interventions in these regions known to be among the poorest in Mindanao can have a powerful impact, providing opportunities for people and communities to improve their lives, while also yielding valuable lessons for boosting the overall quality of education nationwide,” World Bank senior economist Sachiko Kataoka said.

For schools in remote and disadvantaged areas, the project will support the airing of radio-based instructions and TV programs and provide solar-powered transistor radios with built-in lights which can help schools with limited access to electricity continue instruction even during weather-induced emergencies.

DepEd and the BARMM will implement the project in the autonomous region as well as in Zamboanga Peninsula and Soccskargen, where there are high dropout rates, below-average enrollment rates, low performance in reading and math scores, and significant indigenous populations.