Volunteer teacher slams government for lack of support on Lumad education
(Volunteer teacher for Lumads, RJ Perez, delivering his speech on the struggles of teaching in communities with little to no help from government agencies. Danea Patricia Vilog/THE DAPITAN POST)
An educator of Lumad children lambasted the government's lack of support on the indigenous people’s education in a forum held on September 20 at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Seminary Gymnasium.
RJ Perez, a volunteer teacher from the Community Technical College of South Eastern Mindanao, expressed his concern over the lack of concrete action from government agencies about the indigenous people's education, particularly the Department of Education (DepEd).
"Bilang isang guro, ako po ay nalulungkot dahil sa kawalang-bahala ng ating Department of Education. Sa katunayan po, wala pong ni-release ang Department of Education na curriculum para sa mga Lumad," Perez said.
He also expressed disappointment that DepEd left the curriculum at the planning stage despite already having a framework of it designed for the Lumad students.
In the absence of an official curriculum, Perez said several teachers from different alliances and foundations collaborated to create the Makabayan-Makamasa-Siyentipiko (MMS) Curriculum, which they based on the K to 12 framework but grounded more on the language, traditions and culture of the Lumad.
"Sa K to 12 curriculum, ang pagtuturo ng alpabeto ay nagsisimula sa 'A is for apple' [… pero] kahit saan ka pumuntang komunidad na Lumad, wala ka pong makikitang mansanas. [Kaya] sa amin naman po, 'A is for abuloy'. Ang abuloy po ay termino sa mais, at ang mais po ay makikita ng mga bata sa community," Perez explained.
He mentioned that the currently existing means of education for the Lumads were spearheaded by community leaders and parents of the Lumad children who wished to study.
"[Mula pa noong] 1960's, kung nabalitaan po natin, matagal na pong humihingi ng edukasyon at libreng paaralan ang mga Lumad sa ating gobyerno," Perez said.
He added that several religious groups, universities and humanitarian organizations helped build and maintain public schools for the Lumad communities.
He referred to these schools as "charity schools” where students are not charged of any fees, from their tuition and uniforms down to their basic needs.
Perez explained that in order to maintain the charity schools, the students are taught in three aspects--academic, agriculture and health--to ensure that the students develop holistically and preserve their culture.
"Kaakibat ng kultura ng mga Lumad ang sakahan, dahil ang sakahan ay lupang ninuno. Diyan po nila kinukuha ang kanilang ikinabubuhay araw-araw," Perez said regarding the aspect of agriculture, adding that the students were taught "organic" agriculture in order to cultivate their ancestral lands naturally.
Regarding the aspect of health, he said various health organizations had taught the students traditional medicine, acupuncture and even circumcision to compensate for the absence of health centers within Lumad communities.
"Naniniwala po kami na ang edukasyon ay isang karapatan. At kung karapatan po iyan, wala pong hihingin sa inyo, kahit piso," Perez said.
The UST Seminary Rector, Rev. Fr. Quirico Pedregosa, Jr., OP, called on the Thomasian students in the audience to continue educating themselves, especially to recognize their own rights and to respect the rights of others.
"Education is a right. Karapatan, ibig sabihin ay karapat-dapat," Pedregosa emphasized.
Perez also lauded the Lumad students for their enthusiasm and dedication in their studies despite having limited resources and facilities for a basic classroom setting.
"Hindi po hadlang ang classroom, dahil naniniwala kami, na kahit nasa ilalim kami ng puno, puwedeng puwede kami mag-aral. Hangga't ang mga bata ay gustong mag-aral, at ang teacher ay handang magturo," Perez said, to which the Thomasian audience applauded.
The President of the UST Senior High School (SHS) Faculty Association Jonathan Geronimo urged the audience to recognize the Lumads not merely as a minority, but as Filipinos as well.
"Kami, sa panig ng mga guro, ay naniniwala na ang karapatan ay hindi lamang sa iilan. Hindi ito pribilehiyo, dapat natatamasa ito ng lahat," Geronimo said in his closing remarks.
Geronimo also called for a clearer identity of being a Filipino, and claimed that the government should be the first ones to regard the rights of the Filipinos.
"Dapat nating ilinaw at irehistro sa ating gobyerno na lahat ng mamamayang Pilipino sa Pilipinas ay dapat bigyan nila ng karapatan, at itaguyod ang dignidad at buhay ng mga Pilipinong ito," he said.
Organized by the UST SHS Faculty Association, 'Ugnayan: Forum on Lumad Schools' Situation' aimed to facilitate discussions on the Lumads' right to education and provide the Lumad students a platform to reach out to other organizations and affiliations in the absence of government aid.
DANEA PATRICIA VILOG
