3 Programs Launched to Aid Graders and High School Students

Acknowledging the Department of Education’s DepEd inadequacies, the Agusan Del Sur provincial government launched on Tuesday three projects to improve the province’s learning facilities.

Launched here on at the West Central Elementary School here on Tuesday
were the Model of Excellence signing of memoranda of agreements between provincial Gov. Adolph Edward “Eddiebong” Plaza and DepEd Assistant Sec. Reynaldo Antonio Laguda on the implementation of these projects.

The Model of Excellence Schools project involves the setting up of libraries in the different elementary and high schools in the province with secondary learning material from the US that are shipped here through the Books for the Barangays, a non-government organization.

Gov. Plaza said the provincial government is aiming at providing all libraries with secondary learning materials from the US in order to provide quality education to the children of Agusan Del Sur. The provincial government pays for the shipment of the books and other learning materials from the US.

On Tuesday, the governor gave a marching order for 14 municipal mayors in the province to establish at least one library in their towns.

“Tabangi lang ko ninyo aron atong mapakita sa national government that in Agusan Del Sur, education is our priority and we have proved that through our initiatives,” the governor said. “Next to the libraries, we will provide computers.”

The Silya sa Eskwela program on the other hand was launched to address the problem of desks shortage in both elementary and high schools in the province in coordination with the DepEd and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Illegal logs confiscated by the DENR are turned over to the DepEd and the provincial government pays for the carpenter who makes chairs out of these logs. A total of 2,000 chairs were turned over to the different schools recently, and the governor said materials are now ready to complete his pledge of 10,000 chairs for all schools in the province.

In line with the Essential Health Care and Nutrition program, Plaza urged new couples to limit their children to two to three especially those who have barely enough to send them to school. Under his program, children are also taught on brushing their teeth properly and provide them with nutritious food during class breaks.

DepEd Assistant Sec. Laguda for his part thanked the provincial government for “filling up” the department’s inadequacies and said he hopes that the same projects will be replicated in other provinces.

“I found no province in the country that does this without asking from the DepEd but Agusan Del sur. We thank you for these initiatives,” he said.