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DepEd endorses SFI

BAGUIO CITY (May 2) — Education Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad ordered school heads to launch the School First Initiative (SFI) as the answer to the present education crisis in the country.

“We shall stop thinking of schools as outposts of our organization or mere extension of our national network. Instead, we shall place schools as front, top and center of our agenda,” Abad stressed out to a thousand participants to the 5th Biennial Philippine Elementary School Principals Congress on May 2 at Teachers Camp.

The secretary also added that the success of this program lies within the elementary school principals because they are the prime agents of transformation as leaders of change for school improvement.

In the implementation of the SFI, there are five actions to consider, namely: (1) organizing public discussions of current educational outcomes; (2) dialogue with local government based on link between efforts and outcomes; (3) dialogue with the interest groups in the community on the same issues; (4) getting discussions rooted to specific communities and schools; (5) DepEd people should study and learn from this process.

There are also two processes concerning the said SFI; one is the School Implementation Plan (SIP) that serves as a “performance indicator” that will identify the schools’strengths and weaknesses and how to work these things out for the betterment of the school system.

The other process includes the organization of a School Governing Council (SCG) that will involve other sectors of the community to take part into the decision-making process regarding the improvement of the quality basic education.

Meanwhile, some principals initially responded positively about SFI, while others expressed reservations.

Abad said that the SFI left the school heads with a challenge to engage partners in the a process to improve the schools for the benefit of all Filipino children and for the ultimate good of the Filipino nation.

National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP) Baguio-Benguet Chair John Panem said that the program is packaged in such a way that schools would be convinced to adopt the program.

“The responsibility of the state to provide quality education is being passed on to the community. This is a clear sign of state abandonment”, he added. # Carole Jean Cupag and Maria Rica Alminiana Lumangcas / UP Baguio Interns for NORDIS

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