AusAID likely to extend education program in ARMM with US$33-M fund

February 1, 2010

COTABATO CITY – The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is likely to extend up to ten years its bankrolled Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM), this time focusing only to the depressed communities of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with a total fund of US$33-million.

This was announced Monday by ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo during the oath-taking rites here of lawyer Hamid Barra, who was earlier appointed by acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong as regional secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).

“He (Barra) will be playing a main role in the extended BEAM projects,” Sinarimbo told reporters covering the oath-taking ceremony he administered.

Adiong and Mitra enthusiastically discussed the extension of BEAM program in ARMM alone in five to ten years after they signed last January 27 at the Australian Embassy in Manila a memorandum of agreement providing for a US$5-million AusAID fund for the first year of the extended deal, Sinarimbo earlier said in a live radio interview here.

“The additional good news is that they (Adiong and Mitra) agreed in principle on a new system through which the program will be extended from five to ten years…with a total funding package of US$33-million for the ARMM alone,” he said in Pilipino.

Sinarimbo said the extended BEAM program seeks to intensify the AusAID intervention in addressing the sad statistics in ARMM on high dropouts, elementary undergraduates, classrooms shortage, and inappropriate teachers’ instructional skills.

He said the proposed education program extension covers only the elementary level. For high schools that are equally needing improvements, the ARMM government will have to conduct study and present proposals to prospect sponsors, he added. (bpi-armm)