Access to Adult Education for Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines and the Prospects for Cultural Survival

 

by Karla Piacentini

 

Abstract: Outright neglect and denial of rights to equitable learning has been challenging for many indigenous populations in the Philippines. Efforts on behalf of the Department Education to incorporate native language into the curriculum has been slow and many indigenous communities are still seeing a rapid extinction of indigenous knowledge systems and practices and the demise of community reflection processes among their groups. This article looks into the various non- traditional platforms of education for adult indigenous populations in the country as a means to equip them with sufficient information and skills in their struggle for land and resources, social justice and self-determination in order to improve the existing practices that define and unite them as a people. Positive improvements have been made with the help of diverse modes of organization and support through religious institutions, like the Catholic Church, that has undertaken efforts to provide modified interventions in communities most outwardly neglected and discriminated against. Furthermore, NGOs are working with indigenous communities to conduct specific education and training programs tailored to the needs and aspirations of indigenous women. Some provide livelihood project training where women can increase the family income while others provide legal and psychosocial assistance to victims of domestic violence. Consolation conventions have been held in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao to consciously evoke the views, experiences and insights of indigenous communities nationwide.

 

Index Terms — Access to Education, Adult Education, Diversity, Community Organization, Education for All, Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples (ECIP), Indigenous Peoples (IP), Lubos na Alyansa ng mga Katutubong Ayta ng Sambales (LAKAS), Marginalized Communities, Modified Intervention, Mother Tongue Based Instruction, Non-Traditional Education Systems, Paulo Freire, Women Workers Program (WWP).