Implementing rules on ‘peace education’ approved

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday said that the peace education will now be part of public school curriculum as well as teacher education. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus announced the new policy at the signing of the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) for Executive Order 570: Institutionalizing Peace Education in Basic Education and Teacher Education. “I would like to assure you that the DepEd will continue to review the Basic Education Curriculum which includes the Elementary, Secondary, and Alternative Learning System to incorporate peace education where it matters," said Lapus. "DepEd will incorporate peace education where it matters because we believe in the power of education to change the mindset of people towards peace," Lapus said. Likewise, Lapus said that instructional materials will also be developed, produced, and disseminated as additional tools. “There is also a need to strengthen the adaptation or adoption of video peace modules through a series of workshops. Training on the utilization of these materials will also be prioritized," Lapus added. The inter-agency Technical Working Group (TWG), composed of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp), DepEd, Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), National Economic Development Authority (Neda) and civil society representatives, helped draft the IRR. Earlier, DepEd and Opapp have developed elementary and high school peace education exemplars as a way of mainstreaming peace education in the basic formal and non-formal education curriculum. The CHEd said that it will introduce and institutionalize peace education among teachers through pre-service and in-service training. The working group has refined the draft of the implementing rules after two major consultations: the Mindanao-wide Consultation on Peace Education, organized by the Mindanao Peace Education Forum and the National Consultation Workshop on EO 570, organized by Opapp and TWG. According to EO 570, DepEd will serve as co-chair of the coordinating structure. It will spearhead the mainstreaming peace education concepts, skills and values in the learning content of the basic education and alternative learning systems or ALS. It is tasked to encourage and nurture local peace initiatives in schools, ALS local systems and communities and to organize peace education learning circles/teams in the region, division and school level. "The peace problems are very complex and no one has all the answers. However, everyone can do something in his or her little way to bring us a step closer to the attainment of peace," Lapus stressed. - GMANews.TV