The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Saturday formally announced its collaboration with REX Education for the “Gawad Edukampyon” awards.
In a virtual event, the “Gawad Edukampyon” Awards was formally launched to give recognition to the outstanding achievements by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in adapting, innovating, and being flexible for continued learning amid challenges of the current times.
CHED Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III said the Commission is honored to join Rex Education as it launches the “Gawad Edukampyon” Awards. “This bayanihan initiative on the part of Rex Bookstore not only supports flexible learning as a solution to the current educational crisis, more importantly, this is a contribution to managing the transition of the Philippine higher education to a new and better normal,” he added.
De Vera explained that finalists and winners of “Gawad Edukampyon” will be selected through a very rigorous screening and validation process. They will also be featured on the First PhilFlex or Philippine Flexible Summit to be made accessible to the public on October 5 in observance of the 2021 World teacher’s Day celebration.
Rex Education CEO Don Timothy Buhain explained that the Awards aim to “recognize outstanding achievements and innovations” by higher education institutions in the fields of Teaching and Learning, Research and Development, and Public Service and Community Engagement, “so others may learn and be empowered and be inspired by them.”
For Rex Education Chairman lawyer Dominador Buhain, “Gawad Edukampyon” is a testament to “resilience and creativity” of the Philippine higher education institutions to respond to the crisis brought about by the pandemic.
Meanwhile, CHED Executive Director lawyer Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro invited all HEIs to participate in the initiative which is also a “product of the continuous collaboration, partnership, and hard work” of the two organizations.
CHED, she added, also continues its commitment to “innovate and see the opportunities for our higher education institutions and programs to improve and develop more and to continuously be at par with the world especially during this unique, challenging and extraordinary time.”
Dr. Edizon Fermin, a member of the CHED Technical Working Group (TWG) on Flexible Learning, commended the collaboration since it “truly finds empowering opportunities at a time of disruption and uncertainty.” He added the initiative has “clearly and powerfully articulated a timely multi-sectoral approach to championing educational transformations.”