To exchange insights and ideas on how the country can navigate a post-pandemic education landscape, education leaders and stakeholders gathered at a conference organized by Teach for the Philippines (TFP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Over 300 education leaders and stakeholders attended the Ripples of Impact Forum: Making Waves in Education Leadership Development which was a forum organized by TFP and supported by the ADB through the e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund (EAKPF).

The forum, which highlighted TFP’s development research funded by ADB through the EAKPF on organizational innovations to improve teaching, education systems, and inter-agency networks, also became a venue for the launching of an open-source Digital Learning Platform to aid educators and parents in teaching kids at home.

Chief Operations Officer Mavie Ungco said that amidst the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, the TFP sought to “find ways to remain responsive and relevant, beginning with the critical decision to continue the deployment of our teachers in high-need communities across the country, despite the public health risks.”

The forum was attended by key officials from the Department of Education’s (DepEd) central, regional, and division offices; leaders and representatives from local government units (LGUs); higher education institutions (HEIs); public and private school representatives; and civil sector organizations working in the education sector.

The representatives participated in conversations on building a committed network of leaders and advocates that work toward education reform in the country.

The forum was also joined by DepEd Assistant Secretary for Procurement and Administration Christopher Arnuco and Quezon City Councilor Aly Medalla as panel reactors on the research study, which collated five principles from TFP’s core programs that can be applied to teacher-training and development institutions, like DepEd.

Among the highlights in the forum was the launch of the new open-source Digital Learning Platform, which provides online and offline learning resources through the Hi, Teach! and Super Gabay modules for teachers and guardians, respectively.

The resources enable teachers to effectively embed technology to teach literacy and life skills, while parents are empowered through lessons on digital literacy and how to be effective teachers at home.
“Ultimately, the event is about celebrating and validating TFP’s inclusive model of working toward positive impact in education – one that does not see diverse actors as adversaries or competition, but as important allies in addressing a wicked problem that no one should and could work on alone,” Ungco said.

TFP’s partnership with ADB–through the support of the EAKPF–represents what collective action can produce to achieve improvements in the country’s educational system.

These dialogues are also avenues to dissect systemic issues that continuously contribute to the learning crisis.

In a recent World Bank study, 9 out of 10 Filipino children suffer from learning poverty, defined as children less than 10 years old not being able to read and understand simple stories. This also means that 91 percent of Filipino children at the late primary age are “not proficient in reading.”

Ungco noted that TFP was honored to bring together and hear various perspectives from our different partners from TFP, ADB, Korea Education Research and Information Service or KERIS, the DepEd, and other local government units as “we tackle education leadership development and supporting innovations in education that will improve delivery and quality for students and communities who need it the most.”