By ANGELO G. GARCIA
February 4, 2010, 2:53pm
Southeast Asian neighbor Malaysia has shown its intentions in helping the country integrate Madrasah education in its education system.
Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Jesli Lapus recently disclosed to members of the media that Malaysia, through its Ministry of Education, has already approved his request for help in the upgrading of Madrasah education in the country during the bilateral meetings conducted at the sideline of the recently concluded 45th Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) conference in Cebu.
“We have sought their assistance in enhancing our Madrasah education and they offered us scholarship slots for secondary students and teachers,” Lapus said.
Malaysia will offer scholarship for students and teacher trainings. The predominantly Muslim country has likewise helped another Southeast Asian neighbor, Thailand, in successfully integrating Madrasah education to their mainstream education curriculum.
Similar to the Philippines, Thailand was faced with the same secessionist problem in their southern provinces several years ago, and the Thai government decided to make education at the forefront of their strategy to arrest the worsening situation.
“We agreed that education can make an impact in the peace process. It must be introduced as a factor, and we’re asking their (Malaysia) intervention. There cannot be long-term peace in the region if we don’t address the education issues,” Lapus said.
Malaysia has been lending its support to the Philippine government in the peace process in Mindanao.
According to Lapus, the country and Malaysia have similar strategies when it comes to Madrasah education.
There are two types of curriculum prescribed in Madrasah education -- the Enriched Curriculum for Public Elementary Schools and the Standard Curriculum for Private Madaris. The former has been implemented in all DepEd regions nationwide for Muslim students and is known as the Arabic Language and Islamic alues Education Program.
http://www.mb.com.ph/node/241866/malay
