The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) held an education summit last July 26 at the Arcelo Memorial National High School in barangay San Vicente, Liloan town, northern Cebu.
With the theme “It takes a village to educate a child,” the summit raised awareness on the current education system in the
locality.
Participants from the academe, business, religious sectors, and the local government of Liloan took the workshop on education concerns and priorities facilitated by the DepEd (Department of Education) Carcar personnel, a project management team of Asturias, and youths from RAFI-Kool Adventure Camp.
Richard Acaso, district supervisor of DepEd Liloan, delivered a state of education address during the summit.
Elisa Escomin, Liloan National High School teacher, shared her concern during the open forum.
“We need more classrooms. We do not have a library. I hope this will be addressed now, especially that there are non-government organizations willing to help us,” she said.
“I would like to have more teachers, books and classrooms to achieve quality education,” said Carlos John Yap, a fourth year student of Arcelo Memorial National High School.
“This activity will help develop our leadership skills and help us become successful individuals in the future,” he added.
The summit is one of the major activities of RAFI’s EQUIP-CEBU (Educational Quality Improvement through Community Empowerment and Capacity Building), which aims to capacitate local stakeholders in managing their schools.
The proponents of the project believe that learning will be more effective when parents, local government leaders and the community participate in implementing reforms in education.
“Our children’s improvement depends on the management of schools and the improvement of the school depends on our participation,” said Anthony Dignadice, executive director of RAFI’s Education Development Unit.
“This summit is just the start of a series of interventions and activities that will empower our communities to take on a more pro-active role in the education of the children in Liloan,” he said.
For more information about EQUIP-CEBU, contact Tanya Flores at 4197234 local 209 or visit www.rafi.org.ph and www.facebook.com/rafi.or.ph.