LOCAL educational institutions, educators and ministers of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have gathered in a summit where they discussed ways to use education as a means in promoting peace and regional development.
The gathering held at the SMX Convention Center in SM Lanang, Davao City was the first ever to be organized to tackle, consult and plan moves for a long-lasting peace in the region.
Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education chief Mohager Iqbal and the rest of the ministry led the proceedings at the event.
All the attendees contributed to a focused, intensive, and inclusive consultations on continuing education and grassroots development for the education sector in the region.
Iqbal, in his State of the Education Address, emphasized that education is a pillar of nation-building, which can help society sustainably and logically sustain and overcome significant impediments – poverty, injustice, corruption, and conflict.
The education minister also read a message from Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, which highlighted the role of education in post-conflict reconstruction and in sustaining the gains of peace.
“We counteract violent extremism by nurturing among our children and youth the values of inclusion, tolerance, conflict resolution, and non-violence,” Vice President Duterte said.
“Let us work together to reshape the future of BARMM by strengthening our education system, filling the learning gaps caused by the pandemic and instituting a culture of peace curriculum to ensure a successful post-conflict reconstruction,” she added.
BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Embrahim also expressed hope that the first education summit will be a fundamental avenue for nation-building.
“The Education Summit is an opportunity to replicate the message of how significant education and literacy are in nation-building. It is also a venue to strengthen and empower local school boards, school governing councils, and parent-teacher associations,” he emphasized.
Iqbal shared that he envisioned “an inclusive education for all learners and educators”.
“We do not choose whom to teach and who will teach. We aspire for a Bangsamoro Region, where no learner is left behind and no educator feels unappreciated, underserved, or unheard,” he said.
The BARMM Education Summit is the culmination of earlier local education summits conducted in the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur and del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and the Special Geographic Area.
