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42 elementary schools in Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi to have electricity through solar

Cotabato City - There is nothing better to welcome the students in remote rural villages upon their return to schools than the news that they soon will be able to watch educational television programs courtesy of electricity from solar power. Principals and heads of all 42 schools in Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Alliance for Mindanao and Multi-Regional Renewable/Rural Energy Development (AMORE) Program for the schools’ electrification through solar photovoltaic systems.

On to a brighter, energized ARMM. A mural of two sad students with a bleak future (left photo) is transformed into a vibrant picture of the same students, this time smiling and with a bright future. Providing every student in the ARMM with access to good, quality education is the ultimate goal of the partnership between the AMORE 3 Program and the Department of Education-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM), which recently formalized their joint undertaking to implement school electrification projects in Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao with the signing of a memorandum of understanding. Present during the MOU signing were (right photo) are ARMM Chief of Staff Amilhaya Sangcopan, DepEd ARMM Assistant Secretary Mohammad Noor Saada and AMORE Chief of Party Laurie Navarro.

ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman was represented by his Chief of Staff Amihilda Sangcopan, DepEd-ARMM Sec Atty Jamar Kulayan by Asec Noor Mohammad Saada and AMORE by its chief of party Laurie Navarro. Also present were BEE Director Shuaib Maulana, BSE Director Hamid Ladjakahal, SDS Bai Alibai Benito-Aliuden of Maguindanao II Division and SDS Bai Meriam Ampatuan-Kawit of Maguindanao I Division. Also present were school heads from the target divisions.

The elementary schools – found in remote areas that are not reached by conventional electricity – will also receive educational television packages that consist of a television set, a DVD player and one whole set of educational DVDs that contain programs designed to complement the Department of Education’s basic education curriculum.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has been a major destination of community development projects of the AMORE Program since 2002. A rural electrification program that facilitates access among remote off-grid communities to stand-alone renewable energy technologies, AMORE has so far energized at least 300 rural schools mostly in Mindanao, nearly half of which are in ARMM. More than 70,000 students have so far benefited from renewable energy-powered electricity and modern educational technologies.

Fun and interactive learning, a more effective and impactful teaching, and improved overall school performance are just some of the documented impact of solar-powered educational television in the remote schools. By connecting students in poor rural villages to modern technology, AMORE strives to give thousands of students improved learning environment, and thus, a chance at a better quality of life in the future. Solar-powered educational television increase young people’s knowledge and tease their imagination of another world quite different from theirs.

More than 10,000 elementary school students in Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi are expected to benefit from the solar photovoltaic modules donated by the SunPower Foundation, whose main company has solar photovoltaic manufacturing plants in Batangas and Laguna.

To ensure that the benefits of solar power and educational television are maximized, the various school administrations take the lead in the equipment’s operations and maintenance. They also enlist the cooperation of their respective parents-teachers-community association toward a successful project maintenance.

The AMORE Program is a rural electrification alliance between the United States Agency for International Development, Department of Energy, SunPower Foundation and Winrock International. It has so far given renewable energy and lighting access to over 17,000 households in more than 500 remote off-grid barangays in Mindanao.