Day: April 5, 2021

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‘Teaching in Challenged Areas’ pushes through despite pandemic- By Dr. Hazel P. Villa

ILOILO City – “Teaching in Challenged Areas”, which is a pioneering major in the master’s program and a possible integration in the undergraduate level of participating universities in the Philippines under Project FORTH (Formation of Teachers in Challenged Areas) in partnership with the  European Commission and higher education institutions led by Groningen University – is under consideration for full offering.

Thus, the online Third Transnational Training of Trainers “Focalizing Training” started on March 19, 2021 and will end on March 22, 2021 with about 70 participants from the West Visayas State University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Centro Escolar University, University of St. Lasalle-Bacolod, and University of Southeastern Philippines, including partners from the European Commission.

Speaking in last Friday’s opening program were Christoph Wagner, head of cooperation of the EU Delegation to the Philippines; Robert Wagenaar, Project Coordinator and Project FORTH Director; Edurne Bartolome who presented the results of the survey on the “Climate of FORTH Meetings and Partner Interactions”; and Maria Yarosh of University of Groningen who presented the Midterm Report.

On its third year now, Project FORTH is taking stock of the program’s methodologies, working relationships, and sense of progress at its midterm point.

Given the pioneering implementation in some universities, the training seeks to “identify the nature and challenges of teaching in challenged areas served by the university clusters and the challenges that Project FORTH can address through focalized training interventions.”

Most importantly, the participants took stock of the current status of the approval of the Commission on Higher Education of the proposed MAEd Major in Teaching in Challenged Areas which CHED Commissioner Lily Freida Milla said has already been approved by the Technical Committee.

It is expected that at the end of the training, participants would have devised a training design for any challenges that Project FORTH can address and finalize the universities’ choice of topic for implementation and facilitation. 

Link: https://www.panaynews.net/teaching-in-challenged-areas-pushes-through-despite-pandemic/

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Confab beefs up gender policy in WVSU

To fully establish a gender-friendly institution, the University’s Gender Development Office (GDO) intensified the gender policy and the importance of women’s role among taga-west in line of the celebration of women’s month.

The Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was highlighted as one of the topics in a webinar series facilitated by the GDO on March 29 in a zoom conference.

Among the invited speakers was from the Philippine Commission on Women, Josephine Khaleen M. Sasuman who tackled about the Mandates and Initiatives of the Implementation of the Magna Carta of Women and Promotion of GEWE.

“CEDAW recognizes that the culture and tradition are the influential forces [in] shaping the gender roles,” Sasuman said.

The CEDAW is an international bill of rights of Women that was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 1979 which was signed in the Philippines on July 15, 1980 and was ratified on August 5, 1981, the first ASEAN country to do so.

“The CEDAW affirms women’s rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children,” Sasuman added.

Sasuman also discussed the PCW’s initiatives on promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment that includes the legislative advocacy for the enactment and passage of gender-responsive laws such as recognizing sexual abuse and focusing on the violence and abusive conduct as grounds for legal separation.

In addition, the initiative also contains the enactment of the law prohibiting discrimination based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity Expression.

The proposed gender policy of the University was made possible through the research and recommendation of University President Joselito F. Villaruz along with the GDO Director, Jeannette J. Simpas.

“It is high time that we support gender equality, mainstreaming of PWDs and social inclusion,” Simpas emphasized on her opening remarks.

The proposed gender policy was presented to the administrative council and was subject for BOR approval this April 2021.  –Jonar Dorado/CILPI

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WVSU beyond academics

Villaruz stresses ‘social responsibility’ on possible face-to-face classes

West Visayas State University (WVSU) has always lived up to excellence. At this time of pandemic, the WVSU excellence goes beyond just the academics. Dr. Joselito Villaruz, President, stands firm on the University’s social responsibility by providing support to students, faculty, and staff in every possible way.

With the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Joint Memorandum Order indicating that selected Health Professions Programs are allowed to return to face-to-face classes, Villaruz said during the University ‘s Crisis Management Committee meeting, “This is a time of pandemic, we have a responsibility.” As a medical doctor himself,  Villaruz  stressed that the University as one of the vaccination centers for Iloilo province, for example, is part of commitment to health and safety.

Stricter protocols and policies are implemented and developed as WVSU prepares for its application for limited face-to-face instruction for College of Medicine levels I-III students and College of Nursing students from 3rd year to 4th year. The University is one of the 24 Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) who passed the assessment conducted by CHED, the Department of Health and the local Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

As early as lockdown was declared in March 2020, WVSU has been involved with essential health activities including shifting into 100% online learning modalities, with asynchronous classes. “We are not risking our students and faculty,” Villaruz said.

As another challenging feat involves students and faculty, the University does not settle for less.  Self-assessment/readiness, retrofitting of classrooms, and setting of entrance with wash basins and temperature checks and separate exits, have been started. The President also rolled out a memorandum to download StaySafe.ph, an app that aids in contract tracing in the University. Evaluation and monitoring of student health is also set in place.

Furthermore, an isolation/holding room and a quarantine facility will be available in the campus.  No conduct of extracurricular activities will be allowed and students will be required to have their own medical insurance. Transparency will also be addressed if there are Covid-19 cases, in coordination with the University’s base hospital, the WVSU Medical Center. 

The University President raised the importance of simulations and drills for student mobility going in and out the campus. Biosafety lectures were started for the students and faculty and there will be more series of these to ensure everyone in the WVSU community is aware of protective measures. Covid-19 vaccines orientation was also conducted.  Vaccination of faculty and staff is seen to be of priority, as CHEd has moved the faculty and staff of HEIs to the A4 list, which includes frontline personnel in essential sectors identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force.

A meeting with the University stakeholders will be scheduled by April for further details and developments. -CILPI