Cordillera Indigenous Peoples education congress set Oct. 23-25

“In our country, there are many IP groups and we have to align the DepEd policies and projects in the culture and practices of the respective indigenous communities.” (Google maps)

BAGUIO CITY— Indigenous peoples leaders, together with the Department of Education Cordillera Administrative Region (DepEd-CAR) and other stakeholders, will meet for a three-day event in La Trinidad, Benguet to come up with a system that will produce materials  in teaching students the factual and correct information about Cordillerans.

Gearaloy Palao-ay, DepEd-CAR public affairs officer, on Thursday said the event slated October 23-25 is themed, “Sustaining Partnerships for Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd).”

He said IPEd is embodied in a DepEd Order that provides for a framework that aims to guide schools and other education programs as they engage indigenous communities in contextualizing the curriculum.

“In our country, there are many IP groups and we have to align the DepEd policies and projects in the culture and practices of the respective indigenous communities.”

The DepEd can get additional information and guidance from the IP leaders and community members on how to incorporate culture and practices in the learning system of the department. He spelled out the importance of talking to the IP leaders and communities.

Through the IPEd-Cordillera council of elders, the statement set as an example in the IPEd division in Manila the statement, “the Ibaloi boy drunk tapuey before he went to school” that was corrected as it is misleading.

Through IPEd, learners are made to see and feel the real situations in their respective areas, especially in IP communities where lessons are incorporated and integrated with local scenarios and uses visual arts showing the locality, for a more understandable explanation of concepts, he added.

One of the good practices in the Cordillera that was recognized by the DepEd central office was the involvement of IP leaders and the integration of communities in the conceptualization and incorporation of ideas, visuals and examples in the curriculum and lessons, making the information provided to the learners more accurate and real.

Indigenous materials, localized visual aids and illustration are now being used in teaching students, the official said.

“It is good that the Cordillera has a unique situation because learners and teachers are members of the IP communities- who can help conceptualize and provide a clearer picture of the situation, aside from the active involvement of the IP leaders and communities,” he said.

In the region, 62 percent of the learners and teachers belong to the IP group thus, better understanding of concepts in the different subjects like Mathematics, English, Science and other areas of learning.

During the event, DepEd Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Alberto Muyot and Assistant Secretary for Procurement and Project Management Services Revsee Escobedo will grace the event.

Federico Martin, DepEd Baguio Division head, said reconciling the good cultures of the tribes and incorporating those with the current system is part of the framework.

A number of divisions in the region have come up with their own framework, assuring the production of quality materials that do not deviate from the national learning competencies.

In as far as implementation of the IP education in the region is concerned, Martin said that from a scale of 1 to 10, they are now in number seven.

“We want to preserve the good values and principles and integrate the modern practices which are good and can be adapted and passed on to the next generation,” he said.

He added, “culture is the bedrock of any education system and Cordillera took the challenge as a region,” by truthfully incorporating the real situations in the communities as the students are taught concepts in the different subject matters.