DAVAO CITY—The Bangsamoro autonomous government signed a program agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to help it “strengthen efforts to uphold children’s rights to education in the region.”
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) said the memorandum of agreement with Unicef—signed on February 20—aims to provide education services to children in hard-to-reach communities.
Part of the agreement was also to develop the capacity of the Barmm’s Ministry of Basic Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) to eventually develop the Bangsamoro Educational Reform and Development plan. The BERD is a sectoral plan for the region and also assisted separately by Unicef Philippines.
“I am grateful for the support of Unicef Philippines in this endeavor, which will focus on expanding our services in the areas of early learning, basic education, alternative learning, and emergency preparedness and response,” MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal said.
Iqbal said the Bangsamoro Organic Law has mandated the Bangsamoro government to prioritize the welfare and rights of every child across the Bangsamoro regardless of their socioeconomic status, religion and tribal affiliation.
“Our goal here is to provide all children in the Bangsamoro access to contextualized and holistic education,” Iqbal added.
The MBHTE, meantime, said it would also seek cooperation with the Washington, D.C.-based Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in a bid to strengthen the region’s education sector plan.
On its web site, the GPE describes itself as “exclusively dedicated to giving more children in the poorest countries, especially girls, the education they need to unlock their full potential.” The organization said it works in close to 70 developing countries and has mobilized more than $7 billion for education.
“We are slowly harvesting the benefits of peace in the Bangsamoro,” Iqbal said adding there would come a time “when there is no Bangsamoro child left behind in terms of education.”