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Taking Up Books,
Not Arms, As Lasting Solution to War
Obtaining peace in
the Land of Promise can be achieved through another powerful
weapon: books, desks, and classrooms. PBSP fights the war on
poverty in Muslim Mindanao by focusing on education programs
as a more effective tool in tackling this lingering problem.
According to a study conducted by the USAID-Growth with Equity
in Mindanao (USAID-GEM), only 7 out of 10 school children in
ARMM (nationwide: 9 out of 10) can read and write. A more crucial
indicator—functional literacy-- was also the lowest in
all provinces. Only 6 out of 10 school children (nationwide:
8 out of 10) are capable of understanding what they read to
help them become self-sufficient and productive.
A familiar scenario in the ARMM is that one teacher handles
a class of 50 students. Some of these students get to sit on
armchairs but many others are on the floor or on the roots of
trees, on patches of grass as classes are being held under the
shade of a tree. Textbooks, computers, laboratory equipment
are almost hard to find.
Inadequacy of basic learning tools, poverty, shortage of capable
teachers, and sporadic armed conflicts have created a negative
mixture of factors affecting education in this area. Due this,
the survival rate of pupils in schools has been in an all-time
low. Out of 100 school age children, only 10 actually complete
secondary education on time.
In an effort to enhance the quality of education in Mindanao,
PBSP, through the assistance of various corporate sponsors and
foreign donors, works to arrest this continuous decline and
implemented major projects which include support for elementary
public school pupils, construction of literacy centers and school
buildings, conduct of adult literacy classes and teachers' review
classes.
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