To go back to the true objective of the Brigada Eskwela (BE), the Department of Education (DepEd) held a “simple” national kick-off of the program on Monday, Aug. 7.

“Kasi noon, naging complicated, naging contest, naging paligsahan na yung Brigada Eskwela (Back then, it became complicated, it became a contest, the Brigada Eskwela became a competition),” Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte said in an interview in the sidelines of the 2023 Brigada Eskwela National Kick-off in Tarlac National High School.

“And nakita namin na nawala na yung objective nung Brigada Eskwela kaya ibinalik namin, pina-simple namin (We saw that the objective of had been lost, so wanted to bring it back, we made it simple),” Duterte said.

For this year, Duterte said the efforts related to the conduct of the Brigada Eskwela should focus on the maintenance of schools.

“It’s a schools maintenance activity so we appeal to the 'bayanihan' spirit of all Filipinos to help our public schools prepare for the opening of classes,” Duterte said.

“Ang gusto lang natin makita sa ating mga paaralan, functional, clean, and orderly --- ibig sabihin lahat ng kalat sa classroom, sa loob ng eskwelahan, linisin (What want to see in our schools is [that they are] functional, clean, and orderly --- that means all clutter in the classroom, inside the school, should be cleaned),” she added.

Also known as the National Schools Maintenance Week, the Brigada Eskwela is a DepEd initiative under the Adopt-A-School Program.

The program calls for the engagement and collaboration of various personnel and stakeholders, such as, but not limited to students, teachers, school officials, private individuals, parents, community members, local government officials, non-government organizations, religious groups, and other private sector to help ensure that public schools are ready for the opening of classes.

During the national kick-off, DepEd highlighted the “bayanihan” spirit, cooperation, and collaboration among its stakeholders and partners.

The program, Duterte said, is also an appeal to the “bayanihan spirit of every Filipino to help prepare our schools for the opening of classes.”

With the theme “Bayanihan Para sa Matatag na Paaralan,” this year’s BE underscored the country’s volunteer initiatives to ensure a clean, safe, inclusive, and child-friendly learning environment for learners and teaching and non-teaching personnel, and strengthen the resiliency of schools and basic education.

Before the national kick-off, DepEd also issued DO No. 21, s, 2023, known as the 2023 Brigada Eskwela Implementing Guidelines, to guide schools on sustaining partnership engagement activities and ensure its alignment with the components of the MATATAG Agenda.

To be held from Aug. 14 to 19, the advocacy program aims to encourage more local governments, communities, businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other local and national partners to support the implementation of BE and contribute to adequately preparing public schools for the opening of classes on Aug. 29.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/3/classes-in-public-schools-for-sy-2023-2024-to-start-on-aug-29-dep-ed

To date, DepEd has received about 44 million donations from partners for public schools nationwide and about 1.6 million donations for Tarlac National High School.

For this year’s BE, the Department will no longer hold contests for Best Implementing School Awards, Hall of Fame Awards, and Brigada Plus at the national level to emphasize the true spirit of volunteerism.

Schools, districts, and divisions may still give recognition to partners and stakeholders that participated in BE.

“This move is to completely prevent the schools, school heads, teachers, and other personnel from holding solicitations to raise contributions for the conduct of its BE activities,” DepEd said. 

During the kick-off event, Duterte also visited the booths of DepEd’s 31 partner organizations that participated in the exhibit that showcases their support, contributions, and initiatives to public schools nationwide.

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https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/6/dep-ed-to-lead-2023-national-brigada-eskwela-kick-off-in-tarlac