The Iloilo Provincial Government through the Provincial School Board (PSB) headed by Governor Arthur Defensor, Jr. allotted Php6.4 million for the construction of a two-classroom building at Sara Central Elementary School in Sara, Iloilo specifically for their Madrasah Education Program (MEP).
MEP is a program that provides Muslim learners with educational opportunities that are relevant to their culture, traditions, and interests through the integration of Arabic Language and Islamic Values (ALIVE) into the basic education curriculum and to provide a religious foundation in Islamic values and Qura'nic recitation.
PSB secretary Ma. Freda Sabanal-Fajardo with Provincial Administrator Raul Banias turned over the check for the said project to Ms. Nancy Batobalani, school principal, Ms. Liza Balogo, Division Coordinator for MEP, Punong Barangay Godfrey Sonza of Brgy. Poblacion Ilawod, Sara and barangay treasurer Erlita Frias during the flag-raising ceremony on March 10, 2025.
Fajardo said the school building would incorporate elements that are unique to the Muslim culture designed by the provincial government’s architect, Ian Peter Lama. The design includes an area, which can be used as reading nook or prayer room as Muslim learners pray five times a day.
According to the school principal, Ms. Batobalani, we are the first in Western Visayas to implement the Madrasah Education Program and that the learners under the tutelage of Ustadzha Jalilah Abubacar, has won numerous awards in national competitions, beating contenders from the Muslim dominated provinces in Mindanao.
This project is part of Gov. Defensor’s education reform program Bulig Eskwela sang Probinsya (BES PROBINS) in which it provides various support to the Department of Education including the call for inclusive education.
It can be noted that last month, Gov. Defensor also released the amount of Php8 million for the construction of a School of Living Tradition (SLT) for the Indigenous People (IP) learners in Fernandez Perez Memorial High School in Brgy. Datagan, Calinog.
The SLT is a two-storey building with an open stage as performance area and gallery on the second floor where they can display their musical instruments and other exhibits and toilets for their elders.
The building could also double as evacuation center for it can house approximately 30 people in times of calamities.
Meanwhile, the province also released Php1.8 million for Igtuble Integrated School for the development of their School of Living Traditions.
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