[File Photo] Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim (left) and Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament Speaker Atty. Pangalian Balindong (right) during one of BTA’s plenary sessions.
“We expect the Bangsamoro Education Code to be passed this week after the deliberations in the plenary,” Balindong said.
Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim requested to hold a special session on Tuesday, May 18, for the bill’s immediate passage.
Under the R.A. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), BEC is one of the priority codes the BTA needs to enact during the transition period.
Article IX Section 16 of the BOL states that is it the Bangsamoro Government’s top priority to establish, maintain, and support a complete and integrated system of quality education, which shall be a subsystem of the national education system.
It further states that the Bangsamoro Government shall “develop an educational framework relevant and responsive to the needs, ideals, and aspirations of the Bangsamoro people. For this purpose, the Bangsamoro Government shall conform to the minimum standards set by the National Government.”
Education Minister and Member of Parliament Mohagher Iqbal filed the proposed BEC on October 28 last year wherein he said the code is the “embodiment of our collective vision for an inclusive, relevant, effective, and transparent educational system in the region.”
He said the code also highlights the education ministry’s advocacy of “No Bangsamoro Child Shall Be Left Behind.”
BEC shall cover and govern all education systems, whether formal, non-formal and informal, public and private learning institutions, in all levels. Basic, higher and technical education shall be collectively referred to as the “Bangsamoro Education System”.
A month after the bill was filed, the BTA’s committee on education conducted a series of public consultations with the members of the academe, such as school superintendents, principals, and administrators of madrasah, non-government organizations, civil society organizations, local government units, tribal leaders, and other stakeholders.
The result of the public consultation was consolidated into a committee report that will be presented on Tuesday’s special session. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
