Project Overview

EQuALLS2 assists the Philippine government in improving education in Mindanao. The project offers a core set of interventions aimed at increasing access to quality education for elementary school children and relevant learning and livelihood skills training for out-of-school youth. The EQuALLS2 project is implemented in partnership with international and local organizations that specialize in education and youth development in Mindanao. Project interventions are delivered in partnership with the Department of Education (DepED) and DepED in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), together with local government units and education stakeholders in the community.

Objectives

• Increased learning opportunities for children and youth through community support for education
• Strengthened capacity for teaching English, math, and science at the elementary level
• Improved relevance and training for out-of-school children and youth

Activities

Build the capacity of key stakeholder organizations
To help decrease conflict and develop the Mindanao workforce, EQuALLS2 works to build the capacity of a wide range of stakeholder organizations, making them more responsive to the educational needs of the youth. The project works with:

• local parent/teacher/community associations;
• municipal governments;
• local school boards;
• local, regional, and national NGOS; and
• national and regional partnerships.

The project also helps the Department of Education at the national, regional, district, and school levels, including the Bureau of Alternative Education, in strengthening their capacities for management and administration.

EQuALLS2 uses an institutional building process that includes formal and informal training, internships and mentorships, on-the-job training, and small-scale organization development grants. By strengthening the capacity of the organizations, EQuALLS2 aims to maintain educational improvements after the project’s completion and ensure that institution-building strategies are both successful and sustainable to employ youth now and in the future.

Strengthen capacity for teaching English, math, and science
EQuALLS2 offers support for a systemic effort to improve teacher competencies and learner achievements in English, math, and science across all basic education programs in the Muslim areas of Mindanao, improvements in Alternative Learning Systems (ALS) Instructional Manager skills, and the use of different instructional interventions to reinforce student learning.

Increase learning achievement
The program applies a core set of EQuALLS2 education strategies for in and out-of-school youth to improve learning achievement. This approach includes flexible instructional systems and drop-out prevention efforts.

Improve relevance and training for out-of-school children and youth
EQuALLS2 facilitates the development of new instructional programs related to the livelihood and employment needs of out-of-school children and youth (OSCY). The project strengthens linkages between OSCY education and training programs and the informal and formal private sector.

Partners

Implementing Organization
Education Development Center, Inc.

Technical Partners
Save the Children Foundation
Synergeia Foundation
International Youth Foundation
Petron Corporation

Project Documents

Annual Collection of Weekly Highlights
From school grounds, community learning centers, to teacher-training sites, this compilation captures the successes of EQuALLS2 in 2007.

Success Stories
This is a collection of human-interest stories published in national and local papers. It narrates success stories of target beneficiaries in EQuALLS2.

Published Articles
This is a collection of articles published by EQuALLS2 over the years.

Youth Stories

Noraida's Story: Learning Carpentry through EQuALLS2