IN AN effort to keep up with the rapid development in the academe, the Ilocos Norte provincial government is set to create an Education School Board, through an ordinance, which would aim to enhance the teaching efficiency of teachers, particularly in the field of information technology. The said proposal has already been made into a draft ordinance with Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) member Mariano V. Marcos II as principal sponsor and SP member Purisima A. Bueno and ex-officio member Stephanie S. Mandac as co-sponsors. In the proposal, the ESB would be composed of the governor, vice governor, two superintendents and representatives from the different departments of the academe, particularly in mathematics, science, English, information technology and social studies and would work towards designing a strategic plan to train teachers. The teachers’ training would be based on their performance as evaluated in their classes. In a public hearing held October 16 at the SP Session Hall, participants from the academe have expressed their gratitude for the concern shown by the provincial government in developing local teachers. Dr. Norma Fernando, assistant superintendent of the Ilocos Norte Department of Education (DepEd) said the quality of education in the province would not rise above the quality of teachers inside the classroom but “if we have quality teachers, we can also deliver quality education.” “We are very much grateful for this endeavor initiated by the provincial government Ilocos Norte and to board member Marcos and the committee on education for their concern to the training of teachers,” Fernando said. In information technology, Fernando reported that the DepEd has started offering computer education as elective to high school students. However, of the 33 schools in the province, only 20 schools have computer units and which could only be used in limited times. As the provincial government’s thrust is to promote quality education, Fernando appealed to local government officials that the remaining 13 school without access to computers be provided with units for a greater efficiency in the teaching-learning process between teachers and students. When asked what would make the proposed ESB different from the existing provincial school board, Bueno, who chairs the board’s education committee, said the current school board had never come up with a resolution for training teachers. Bueno reported that perivously, the DepEd national office has been the sole trainor of teachers, but this time, the provincial government would now have the option to initiate its own training program for assigned teachers in its area. Bueno further explained hat the proposed ESB will also serve as an auxiliary of the existing provincial school board. “The ESB will be more comprehensive and detailed with the fact that not only superintendents are involved but also the different heads concerned and top officials of the province will compose the new school board,” Bueno said. The teachers’ training was first initiated by Marcos II in Batac, Ilocos Norte several months earlier where at least 115 teachers attended a three-day seminar at the Mariano Marcos Elementary School and at the Northwestern University. The senior board member funded the said training along with the provincial government. Leilanie G. Adriano
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