PLDT and its wireless unit, Smart Communications, Inc. are helping volunteer teachers of the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) Madaris Volunteer Program (MVP) bring inclusive quality education to Muslim-centered schools or ‘madaris’ across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). For the first time, volunteer teachers are equipped with a crisis-resilient teaching pedagogy – the Central Visayan Institute Foundation Dynamic Learning Program (CVIF-DLP).
“The CVIF-DLP supports the current curriculum of the Education Department. It’s an adaptive tool that can be used by different learning institutions and transcends geographical and cultural boundaries,” said Stephanie V. Orlino, AVP and Head of Stakeholder Management at PLDT and Smart.
“Madaris volunteers serve the poorest BARMM communities whose literacy rates consistently rank the lowest in the country. The schoolchildren in these areas have been victims of armed conflict and decades-long historical disenfranchisement that still persists today,” said Tessa Mae D. Alison, Training and Special Events Coordinator of the Madaris Volunteer Program.
Madaris broadly refers to Muslim private schools with a core emphasis on Islamic studies and Arabic literacy. Many of these privately-operated institutions rely on local community support or foreign aid, particularly from Islamic or Muslim countries.
PLDT and Smart together with ADDU onboarded volunteer teachers bound for 14 madaris across the Bangsamoro region. The volunteer teachers will immerse in their assigned communities, often staying with host families, for around ten months to teach DepEd-mandated subjects.
“This teaching pedagogy is indeed a big help for me as a volunteer teacher to promote independent student learning wherein the students will learn by doing,” said Radzmalyn M. Asula who is assigned at Al-Qudwa Integrated Learning Center in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.
Developed by Ramon Magsaysay awardees Dr. Christopher Bernido and the late Dr. Maria Victoria Bernido, the CVIF-DLP is a teaching pedagogy that encourages independent learning among students. The program makes extensive use of the CVIF-DLP Learning Activity Sheets (LAS) that help improve learner outcomes even with little to no teacher or parent intervention.
The CVIF-DLP has been supported by Smart and PLDT-Smart Foundation for over a decade to roll out programs that promote inclusive quality education, ensuring that no learner is left behind. The initiative highlights the PLDT group’s commitment to help the nation achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 on Quality Education.
Liked this post? Follow SwirlingOverCoffee on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
