As classes open, teachers contend with poor school facilities while parents are confronted with the sheer economics of educating their children. And the kids? The education department inSouthern Mindanao has found a novel, if exploitative, way to make them pay for the government?s negligence and shortcomings.
By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com
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DAVAO CITY — The Department of Education (DepEd) in Southern Mindanao is expecting the arrival of some two million books to augment the present number of books in the region.
This was bared by Minnie Fabros, DepEd?s spokesperson in the region, who also admitted that the present student-book ratio is still 1:3.
?The supply of books for public school students is still not enough. However, students can look forward to the arrival of 2 million books, although on a staggered basis,? she said.
Sixteen years ago, Carlo Perez, then an 11-year-old boy, got hooked on kites. Today, he has turned his passion into a booming business. And while more and more kids are turning to computer games for amusement, Carlo remains devoted to his kites. The day he lets go of the string, he says, is the day he lets go of his dreams.
By Jeffrey B. Javier
davaotoday.com
Photos by Barry Ohaylan
DAVAO CITY ? Carlito ?Carlo? Perez kicks up some dust as he brushes past the children toward the center of the oval field of the Davao City National High School (DCNHS).
“It is good,” he remarks as he looks up at the clear, blue, afternoon sky and feels the strong summer breeze. It is the first time Carlo’s Kite, the kite shop Carlo owns on V. Mapa Street, to hold a seminar workshop on kite-making. He is afraid that it will end with dark clouds hanging over us, literally. The weather has not been good for the past days. Even if the weather forecasts promised sunny days, the climate here in Davao has been unpredictable.
As Carlo fixes the contraption he carries, the children gather around him with wide eyes and eager curiosity. The workshop participants are children of Baranggay 10-A, the barangay (village) in which the shop is located. They have been waiting for Carlo to build his great kite. As Carlo finishes assembling the kite, he points out its different parts: the skeleton made of carbon fiber plastic, the leaf or the body made of taffeta, and the nylon string that, as if telling the kids, lets you hold on to your dreams.
Carlo, 27, considers every kite he makes a dream.
MANILA ? In a bid to create a more child-sensitive media environment, the United Nations Children?s Fund (Unicef) commissioned research studies that verified Philippine media?s adherence to the guidelines promulgated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 1999.
The studies, which covered print and television in Metro Manila, Cebu City and Davao City, uncovered that the media guidelines are being violated. The Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC) and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) conducted the research.
The Social Welfare and Development department has amended the guidelines for the issuance of permits to travel abroad for minors. It says this would simplify and shorten application and issuance…