MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Department of Education (DepEd) launched yesterday the integration of road safety into the K-12 basic education curriculum.
The integration program is set to be pilot-tested in Quezon City by the LTO National Capital Region East Division.
The LTO is set to sign a memorandum of agreement with the city government this week for the pilot test.
Mayor Joy Belmonte and Vice Mayor Gian Carlo Sotto voiced support for the program.
The road safety program will be incorporated in the different subjects from kinder to high school levels in public schools, according to LTO chief Edgar Galvante.
Galvante said it aims to educate school children about road safety and instill discipline regarding traffic regulations.
“We want to encourage the youth to be more responsive to road courtesy,” he said.
Galvante said road accident is the leading cause of death among children and young adults aged five to 29.
“The LTO has been advocating for the mainstreaming of road safety education – to make it part of formal education. We believe that if the program is included in the school curriculum, there will be more informed, responsible and safety-conscious road users,” he told reporters.
Learning materials integrating road safety into Science, Filipino, MAPEH and English subjects will be readied by the LTO and DepEd.
The LTO will provide the financial, material and logistical resources. Local schools division of Quezon City will map out the curriculum and develop the learning materials.
Galvante expressed confidence that the program would help reduce the number of road crashes in the country.
A report by the World Health Organization showed that an average of 12,000 deaths occur in the Philippines yearly, or about 33 deaths per day. The report showed that road accident is the eighth leading cause of death worlwide, with 54 percent of deaths coming from vulnerable road users.