First Library Hub in ARMM, launched

First Library Hub in ARMM, launched

Cotabato City- In line with PGMA’s program to enhance education, the Department of Education-ARMM in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills (EQuALLS2) Project, recently launches ARMM’s first Library Hub in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.
The Library Hub provides library facilities in public schools in the province and its nearby municipalities by making books available and that can be borrowed in volume by local teachers for 25 days, for them to use in classroom or for their students to borrow. With this initiative, children in the province will now have more opportunities to learn and be educated by reading good and quality books. The Hub provides up to 6,000 English, Math, and Science books which were donated by the US-based Brother’s Brother Foundation, one of the world’s largest private book donors.
The Library Hub is a nationwide government project through the Department of Education to realize its objective of enhancing literacy by molding more Filipino children readers especially in places with poor literacy rate. The ARMM in particular, needs assistance in raising the literacy level since the region has posted to have the lowest literacy level nationwide, obtaining fewer social and economic benefits plus its suffering from the current armed skirmishes. Through this effort, students and the out of school youths who will benefit the library will improve their capacity in reading and broaden their learning skills. This would also be the answer to the problem in public schools having shortages in textbooks.
The DepEd’s Library Hub is part of the government’s education program to reduce poverty as well as promote development in Mindanao. High illiteracy rate along with conflict and the lack of job-generating investments are the grounds why the region still endures poverty. The government vowed to support in all ways with its commitment to improve the quality of education and literacy of schoolchildren and the youth especially in far flung places. This is a big help for the people to improve their living and to the coming generation, having a better and brighter future.
The government ‘s effort was supported by USAID’s EQuALLS2 Project, that has already provided 800,000 books to 741 public elementary schools in the ARMM and Regions 9 and 12, and will provide a million more books by 2011. It is helping the DepEd improve basic education in the ARMM and Regions 9 and 12 by supplementing educational infrastructure and materials, strengthening capacity for teaching English, math and science, and training out-of-school youth.