The Seal of Good Education Governance. (Photo Courtesy: Valenzuela City Government)
QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The Synergeia Foundation, Inc. conferred the Seal of Good Education Governance (SGEG) to outstanding municipalities and city governments that facilitated the delivery of a responsive and inclusive educational governance initiatives during the 2023 Washington Sycip National Education Summit last September 21 to 22, 2023.
Synergeia is a non-profit organization at the forefront of transforming educational leaders and institutions through reinventing local school boards, rebuilding learning communities, retooling teachers capacity, reshaping parents as teachers, restoring trust in the education system, and reinforcing the efficacy of children learners.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), the cities of Valenzuela and Navotas are among the local government units that received the said accolade for the implementation of education reforms.
City Vice Mayor Lorie Natividad-Borja accepted the award on behalf of the local government of Valenzuela which has been granted with the SGEG for the fifth consecutive year.
Valenzuela City Vice Mayor Lorie Natividad-Borja accepts the Seal of Good Education Governance together with other stakeholders from the local government. (Photo Courtesy: Valenzuela PIO)
Among the notable education initiatives of the Valenzuela City government include the Education 360 Degrees Investment Program which is a holistic undertaking aimed at improving the overall quality of local basic education through community-driven and student-oriented developmental initiatives such as the city-wide Nanay-Teacher Parenting Camp, Remedial Reading Summer Camp, and the Enhanced K to 6 Feeding Program.
Schools Division Office (SDO) Navotas Superintendent Dr. Meliton Zurbano meanwhile received the seal as the representative of the city government in the education summit.
SDO Navotas Superintendent Dr. Meliton Zurbano receives the Seal of Good Education Governance on behalf of the city government. (Photo Courtesy: Synergeia Foundation, Inc.)
“The city’s back-to-back wins prove its strong commitment to support education initiatives, especially amidst the challenges posed by post-pandemic learning recovery. Congratulations to Navotas City’s school leaders, educators, partners, and all stakeholders! Keep up the great work in providing quality education for all Navoteños,” SDO Navotas collectively expressed.
City Mayor John Rey Tiangco also gave recognition to the dedication of educational stakeholders to foster quality basic education to students which paved the way for the local government to gain the SGEG for the fourth consecutive year.
“Thank you for ensuring that our learners receive the best quality of education even amidst difficulties and challenges. Let us always ensure that young Navoteños are equipped with the right knowledge, skills, and values to help them reach their full potential, achieve success, and become upstanding members of society,” said Tiangco.
Aside from the provision of academic, sports, and arts scholarship grants to students as well as capacity-building programs for teachers, the city government of Navotas is also employing the Project Teach-a-Learning Child (TLC) to gather volunteers who are interested in helping the students address their learning gaps.
Since 2020, more than 400 teacher-volunteers have taken part in the said initiative to cater to the learning needs of students across the different parts of the city. Their outstanding commitment to the advancement of the local education system likewise facilitated the increase in functional literacy rates in the city.
Other multisectoral efforts inclined with the delivery of quality basic education include the Barangay-initiated Oplan Galugad for learners’ mapping and the provision of the necessary funding assistance to sustain the Alternative Learning System Program in community schools.
These efforts were complemented by the initiative of the private sector, particularly the business community, to donate handwashing facilities and vitamins for students aside from the dispensation of medical checkups.
During the height of the pandemic, the in-city tricycle drivers also aided in the distribution of learners’ modules and other educational materials that are included in the NavoSchool-in-a-Box.
In 2019, the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) of Navotas City demonstrated a significant decline in the number of frustrated readers from 15 percent down to 3.7 percent which served as one of the tangible testaments to the effectiveness of the local government’s education reforms.
The 2023 National Education Summit has been observed along with the theme “Believing in and Finding Neverland” in a bid to develop creative solutions to secure the inclusive future of education. (PIA-NCR)
