THE Department of Education and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao yesterday signed a memorandum of agreement to implement the Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP), which aims to enhance educational support for teachers by boosting their in-service training in the region.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara and BARMM Minister Mohaqher Iqbal, also the head of the region’s Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education, led the signing ceremony at the DepEd main office in Pasig City.
Angara said TEACEP, developed in collaboration with the World Bank, is designed to support DepEd’s initiative to improve the quality of education and equitable access to teaching from Kindergarten to Grade 6 through enhanced teacher professional development training.
The project, according to Angara, focuses on boosting teacher effectiveness, particularly in literacy and numeracy, by providing in-service training for teachers.
“It also incorporates a coaching and instructional leadership model aimed at fostering professional growth among teachers and school leaders,” the DepEd chief added.
He said TEACEP is closely aligned with the Basic Education Development Plan 2030 and the National Learning Recovery Program, which address the educational challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic when schools had to shift to online learning.
Angara said TEACEP will also support BARMM’s “contextualized education initiatives,” such as the Bangsamoro Education Reform and Development Plan (BERDP) and the Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP), with the goal of strengthening the region’s capacity to deliver effective teaching and learning resources.
The MOA outlines the three main components of the project, namely, enhancing teaching practices for teachers and school leaders, providing adequate resources for effective teaching and learning, and establishing a robust framework for project management, monitoring, and evaluation.
Iqbal said that as an initial step for the program, BARMM will identify public elementary school teachers (Kindergarten to Grade 6), school heads, Education Program Supervisors, and Public Schools District Supervisors who will participate in the training.
Overall, the DepEd said that TEACEP will benefit an estimated 57,800 teachers, 6,060 school heads, and 1.88 million leaders in BARMM, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Soccsksargen.
TEACEP will be funded through a loan agreement between the Government of the Philippines, represented by DepEd, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
