COTABATO CITY – Secretary Jamar Kulayan of the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepED-ARMM) led the ‘Brigada Eskwela’, an annual school maintenance activity, at the Lumao National High School in South Upi, Maguindanao on Thursday, May 21, before he leaves his post.
Secretary Kulayan rendered service as head of the ARMM’s Education Department since January 2012. He assured that before he leaves DepED-ARMM, additional classrooms will be programmed for construction for the Lumao National High School.
The Brigada Eskwela 2015, also known as the National Schools Maintenance Week, will end on Saturday, May 23, with the theme “Tayo para sa kalinisan, kaligtasan at kahandaan ng ating mga paaralan” The theme refers to the schools’ disaster preparedness and resilience to calamities.
The activity is an initiative to prepare public schools for the new academic year, or school year 2015-2016, that would start on June 1 and would end on April 1, 2016 for public elementary and secondary schools.
On Monday, the Brigada Eskwela kicked off in the region spearheaded by ARMM Governor Mujiv S. Hataman accompanied by DepED-ARMM officials in Parang town, Maguindanao.
The Australian Government-funded BEAM (Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao)-ARMM program has boosted the activity with an allocation of P1.5 million for minor repairs in at least 150 classrooms including schools with BEAM-ARMM program-supported libraries.
“This activity brings together school officials, parents, students, and private organizations in an effort to clean and repair schools,” Kulayan said.
Pilar B. Cogonon, school head of Lumao National High School, said it was the first time that the regional secretary of DepED-ARMM visited the school. “We are glad that Secretary Kulayan visited us, now he can see our school’s improvement and of course the needs of the students and teachers here,” she added.
Together with the BEAM-ARMM and ABS-CBN, Secretary Kulayan turned over school supplies intended for 74 Grade 7 and 8 students. Jellica Timon, a 12 year-old Grade 7 student expressed her gratitude to DepED-ARMM, BEAM-ARMM and other organizations for the school supplies she received.
“Masaya at nagpapasalamat po ako sa mga tumulong sa amin, mas mag-aaral pa po ako ng mabuti ngayon para makatulong sa pamilya at kapwa (I’m happy and grateful to those who helped us. I’ll study harder so I could help my family and my fellow students),” she said. (Bureau of Public Information)
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