Visayas schools urged to take part in UNESCO projects

CEBU — A top official of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was in Cebu the other day to promote the Associated School Projects Network (ASPNet) and UNESCO Clubs, which are part of UNESCO’s global projects on education, and encouraged schools and universities in the Visayas and the community to participate in UNESCO programs.

UNESCO is considered the intellectual arm of the United Nations System with global literacy as its focal point. It is aggressively promoting the rights of children as a major component of education for all programs.

Ambassador Preciosa Soliven, secretary general of the UNESCO National Commission, said in a forum at the University of San Carlos’ Girls High School that UNESCO wants to expand its list of ASPNet members nationwide and to involve the youth in UNESCO programs through the ASPNet and UNESCO Clubs.

The ASPNet involves some 5,600 schools in 162 countries. Twenty-four of these schools are in the Philippines, mostly in the National Capital Region.

UNESCO Clubs, on the other hand, are groups of people, mainly the youth, who share the ideals of UNESCO and want to work in the organization. There are 10 UNESCO Clubs in the Philippines.

The ASPNet aims to promote international cooperation and understanding by encouraging member-schools to undertake special educational programs relating to international cooperation with other countries and cultures, human rights and the environment.

Soliven said ASPNet schools serve as navigators of peace and agents for positive change and as instruments to achieve education for all and to implement UNESCO’s strategies and programs in the fields of education, the sciences, culture and communications.

In the Philippines, there are two ASPNet coordinators: one for basic education, and the other for teacher-training institutions, both tasked to serve as links in the implementation of the program.

ASPNet members are classified into three: primary educational institutions; secondary educational institutions; and teacher-training institutions or those which consist of students majoring in education or teacher-training.

Schools aspiring for ASPNet membership should have a majority population of Filipino citizens and their officers or teachers-in-charge should have attended UNESCO-organized trainings and seminars.

Soliven cited OB Montessori, a financially self-sufficient school she founded in 1966, as an example of an ASPNet member-school.

OB Montessori has been teaching children to be independent at an early age in a curriculum called "Pagsasarili," a distinct program that promotes the role of ASPNet to achieve UNESCO’s goals.

In "Pagsasarili," the teacher helps children work independently within a prepared environment. It involves reading and writing, math and geometry, geography, history, botany and zoology.

"In the Pagsasarili way, a child is taught to correct his or her own mistake, thus helping the teacher avoid scolding," Soliven said, adding that this method would transform the child into a better prepared individual.

Soliven said she hopes other schools in the Visayas and Mindanao which aspire to become ASPNet members would also implement a strategy similar to that of the OB Montessori which has demonstrated a good example of training a child not only in academics but in social adaptability as well. — Freeman News Service