Basic Education
 
EQuALLS has trained 15,200 teachers in the ARMM and Regions 9 and 12 in English, math, science, and close to 1,500 school administrators and officials in school finance, management, and governance. We have trained and supported more than 500 parent-teacher-community associations and similar school governance structures with Community Incentive Grants for education projects. We have also been a key partner of the Department of Education in its annual Brigada Eskwela – a school-community program that engages all education stakeholders to contribute their time and resources in ensuring that the schools are ready for opening day.
 
EQuALLS has built and furnished 14, and repaired or refurbished 42 classrooms. We also provided more than 500,000 textbooks, 32 computer systems, and other learning materials to our 741 schools.
 
More than 300,000 learners enrolled in the schools and community learning centers are being supported by the project. These include almost 25,000 out-of-school children and youth (OSCY) who are enrolled in alternative learning systems to reintegrate into the formal school system, or receive equivalency certificates.
 
To expand our reach and impact, EQuALLS has entered into partnerships with local and international public and private organizations that share our goals under USAID's Global Development Alliance model. We have teamed up with Petron Foundation -- the social arm of one of the Philippines’ top oil companies -- for classroom construction; with the US-based Brother’s Brother Foundation -- one of the world’s largest private book donors -- for book donations; with the United States Peace Corps’ Tudlo (Teach) Mindanao Program for teacher training in English proficiency; with Microsoft Philippines for teacher training in computer literacy; and with National Book Store Foundation – social arm of the Philippines' largest chain of bookstores -- to provide dictionaries and thesauri to all of our schools.
 
EQuALLS continues to look for ways to enhance basic education in Mindanao, such as partnering with other donors, continued consultation of key education stakeholders, and using innovative approaches to education such as demand-driven book distribution methods through book fairs to ensure relevance of learning materials to teacher and student needs, and training teachers in computer skills.