UST to continue distance education project for Aetas

MANILA, Philippines - When school opens in June, the University of Santo Tomas will continue with its project of giving Aetas a chance to improve their lives through distance education program. UST’s project, according to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), has so far produced 49 graduates from Bamban and Tarlac who received their certificates of recognition for a four-year course. "Distance learning system is an effort wherein the student is geographically distanced from the instructor. Classes are held through any accessible technology," the CBCP said. The program provides education to individuals impeded by distance, lack of time, or physical incapacity. Started in 1999 by UST's former student affairs head and now alumni affairs director Evelyn Songco, the program was administered by "para-teachers" under the supervision of College of Education Assistant Professor Marielyn Quintana and Faculty of Arts and Letters Assistant Professor Arlene Domingo. "I am very happy for the Aeta adult learners. Each of them had been very eager to learn new things and to accept changes," Lucy Guya, one of the para-teachers, said at the time of graduation. After the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991, most of the Aeta communities found refuge in the highlands of Zambales and Tarlac. Five sitios in Bamban, Tarlac – Mabilog, Malasa, Haduan, San Martin, and Santa Rosa – are now partner communities of UST, where non-formal classes via two-way radio are conducted. Aside from topics on environmental conservation, livelihood, health, responsible parenthood, and community development, the program will also teach Aetas practical things like learning how to read and write, and understanding legal documents about ancestral domain and value of their crops. - GMANews.TV