"Iskulelat"

Episode on August 4, 2008 Monday night after Saksi Every year, the Department of Education holds the National Elementary Achievement Test for all schools and every year, schools in Mindanao end up in the bottom ten. This year, Ariman Guro Elementary School in Lanao del Sur got an average score of 21.7%, the lowest grade among all elementary schools in the Philippines. I-Witness' Sandra Aguinaldo heads to Lanao del Sur to find out why. She discovers Ariman Guro only has six teachers for all grade levels, teachers with no subject specializations. The school sorely lacks chairs and tables and the only textbooks sent to them by government is for the Makabayan subject, forcing the teachers to buy textbooks using money from their own pockets. The students at Ariman Guro often miss class. Their primary reason: the prevalence of "rido" or clan wars in the area. Many of the students here belong to warring families. 11-year old Fahad Cosain recently lost his uncle to Rido. For his own safety, he stays at home now instead of going to school. His young cousins now carry guns to protect themselves from attack. The school's candidate for valedictorian, Rahimah Nasroden, was also affected by her family's clan war. Rahimah was not allowed to go to school during the height of the conflict, for fear of abduction and possibly even assassination. Rahimah is back to school now and determined to finish her education, believing this is her only way out of poverty. This gripping documentary on the lives of the students and teachers of Ariman Guro airs this Monday late night on I-Witness. Entitled "Iskulelat?", the documentary was hosted and written by Sandra Aguinaldo, recently awarded as Investigative Journalist of the Year at the Rotary Journalism Awards.

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Taun-taong isinasagawa ng Department of Education ang National Elementary Achievement Test sa lahat ng paaralan sa Pilipinas. Taun-taon ding nangungulelat sa resulta ang mga eskuwelahan sa Mindanao. Ngayong 2008, ang nakakuha ng pinakamababang grado sa NEAT exam ay ang Ariman Guro Elementary School sa Lanao del Sur. 21.7% lang ang average score ng mga kabataan dito. Anim na guro lang ang narito at wala silang partikular na subject na itinuturo. Kulang din ang paaralan sa mesa at upuan at ang tanging libro na natanggap nila mula sa gobyerno, tungkol lang sa Makabayan. Kaya ang diskarte ng mga teachers, bumili ng gagamitin nilang textbooks. Ang mga estudyante naman, may matinding dahilan para sa kanilang mababang performance: ang rido, mga away ng mga pamilyang Muslim. Marami sa mga estudyante ng Ariman Guro, kabilang sa mga pamilyang nagrirido. Ang labing-isang taong gulang na si Fahad Cosain, kamamatay lamang ng tiyuhin noong nakaraang lingo. Hindi siya ngayon makapasok dahil nag-iingat ang buong angkan. Armado na ang marami niyang pinsan, handa sa anumang pag-atake ng kalabang pamilya. Ang kandidato sa pagka-valedictorian na si Rahiman Nasroden, hindi rin nakaligtas sa epekto ng rido. Ilang beses na rin siyang hindi pinapasok sa takot ng pamilya niyang madamay siya sa gulo. Pero sa kabila nito, patuloy sa pagpupursigi si Rahiman na makatapos sa pag-aaral dahil naniniwala siyang ito ang susi sa kaginhawaan ng kanilang buhay. Sundan ang pakikipaglaban ng mga estudyante at guro ng Ariman Guro Elementary School ngayong Lunes sa I-Witness na pinamagatang "Iskulelat?". Ang dokumentaryong ito ay isinulat ni Sandra Aguinaldo, na katatanggap ng Investigative Journalist of the Year Award sa Rotary Journalism Awards.