BONTOC, Mountain Province – Amid the crisis faced by learners due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) has partnered with other government agencies to continuously encourage, inculcate and cultivate the love of reading; and to promote literacy and numeracy of the learners through the Brigada Pagbasa Program.
With this, personnel from the DepEd- Mountain Province Schools Division Office, Library Hub, Bontoc Local Government Unit (LGU) through the Bontoc Municipal Library, Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School (MPGCHS), and Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC) through its Library have been going around the municipalities of Mountain Province purposely for this program.
According to Education Program Specialist II, Social Mobilization and Networking Ching Ekid-Kilakil of the MPSDO, the Brigada Pagbasa, as part of the Brigada Eskwela is an after-school reading program that envisions bringing together education partners and experts to help learners read and become functionally literate.
Also, the Brigada Pagbasa provides a platform for the sharing of good practices that shall inspire other LGUs to set up their Community Libraries.
Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey who has always been supportive of the education sector immediately approved the request of Mountain Province Schools Division Superintendent Sally Ullalim for Municipal Librarian Chamrein Casiwen to join in the Brigada District Hop and Parents Engagement in different schools of Mountain Province.
Likewise, Odsey lauded the initiative of the DepEd which aimed to address education-related challenges and create more opportunities to closely work with other partners.
“To become literate is an important component in the development of children, especially in this fast-paced, technology-driven age. Brigada Pagbasa aims to unleash the potential in every child,” the mayor added.
Casiwen shared that going to the different municipalities of Mountain Province for the Brigada Pagbasa Program together with partner agencies, volunteer readers and volunteer tutors gave them opportunities to read with the learners, and encourage and motivate the struggling learners, and non-readers to improve their reading and comprehension skills.
It is to be noted that Bontoc is the only municipality in Mountain Province that has a public library and a plantilla position of a Librarian. The Bontoc Municipal Library has always been a place for students and the public to read and research. Also, four units of desktop computers are now being used by the public free of charge at the Bontoc Municipal Library for internet surfing, Microsoft Office applications, and among others purposely for information and education. Thus, online registration on government transactions such as applications for NBI clearance may be availed of by the public at the Bontoc Municipal Library.
Likewise, the Bontoc LGU through the Municipal Library has started reaching out to its barangays and has started setting up Barangay Reading Centers.
Meanwhile, the conduct of the activity is still in compliance with the health protocols and Inter-Agency Task Force guidelines. By Alpine L. Killa
