Marawi faces a range of challenges to inclusivity that further drifts learners away from achieving educational success, with conflict and discrimination leading them. Hence, as a pledge of the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education to reach every child in the Bangsamoro, the Inclusive Schools Approach (ISA) was initiated that aims to identify and address the educational needs of the learners. The KaISA Project (as the catchword for the ISA) was launched as a region-wide movement for document and locate learners with functional difficulties in BARMM for inclusive education that included a Pilot Child Finding Activity supported by the Australian Government, titled the 20 Days to Reach Every Child Campaign, which was implemented across 11 Schools Division Offices in the region that they themselves spearheaded – including Marawi.
During the campaign, the Field Enumerators faced multiple challenges on the field. Problems included the terrain of the remote areas being muddy and crossing rivers through a faulty bamboo bridge. Despite these hurdles, Field Enumerators of Marawi still chose to traverse these tricky paths despite the risks. As the Field Enumerators encountered challenges as they conducted the survey interviews, they learned the larger issues that those who live in Marawi face.
The findings gathered during the campaign revealed that many children in BARMM experienced learning difficulties during the two-year COVID-19 pandemic when physical classes were restricted. A mother in Brgy. Raya Saduc noted that her children were having difficulty learning with self-paced modules. As much as she wanted to teach them, she could not balance guiding her children through their educational tasks alongside earning a living for their family.
It was also discovered that education was not readily available in all parts of the region. In Brgy. Basak Malutlut, no one is enrolled in Madrasah – even if they wanted to – due to its absence in the community. Multiple cases of out-of-school youth were also documented in the city. This led to a widespread call for the provision of alternative methods of learning to mitigate the educational needs of learners in Marawi. In addition to appropriate modes of education that residents of Marawi were seeking for learners in their community, there was also a need to make the enrolment process inclusive for parents with disabilities. Anisah Manalocom, a Field Enumerator, surveyed a barangay with numerous cases of disabilities lacking support. In one household, a mother had a visual impairment, while her son had a physical disability. There were also instances where multiple children with disabilities lived in one household; all of which experienced their own difficulties in getting a chance to be educated. In the same barangay, three siblings had disabilities with varying health cases of severe asthma and intellectual disabilities.
These are simply a few of the many untold stories of children in the Bangsamoro region who are seeking education. All of these are proof that it is worth investing in inclusive education in every place. By ensuring that all learners in the Bangsamoro are provided with education that is appropriate and inclusive for them, BARMM can also be assured that every member of their community would be able to thrive and grow as productive individuals who can contribute to the prosperity of the region.
In the face of adversity, the people of Marawi and their cooperation and respect continue to motivate and inspire the Field Enumerators to drive the campaign further from where it started, and nearer to the goal to reach every child and to manifest the MBHTE’s mission of a quality inclusive education that ensures no one gets left behind.