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COTABATO CITY — In an effort to improve the quality of education in BARMM through information systems and data management, Pathways, with support from the Australia in The Philippines, facilitated the development of the Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education’s (MBHTE) Information System and Strategic Planning (ISSP) and Policy from June 4-6.
Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal heads the MBHTE, one of the 15 primary governance organs of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The ISSP outlines the Ministry’s comprehensive strategy, which includes medium-term (3-5 year) planning for its information and communications technology (ICT) initiatives, strategies, and development programs. The plan aims to ensure that ICT efforts are aligned with and prioritised according to the Ministry’s vision, mission, goals, and strategies. It positions ICT as a strategic resource in the organisation’s future trajectory and serves as the Ministry’s overall ICT strategic plan.
In 2023, Pathways supported the development of the Bangsamoro Education Management Information System (BEMIS bemis-mbhte.bangsamoro.gov.ph), and Ministry’s official website (mbhte.bangsamoro.gov.ph), an ICT-enabled system that maintains a comprehensive database of BARMM education data and provides accessible information for all stakeholders. BEMIS is a key component of the Ministry’s information system framework, supporting policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation, program management, and decision-making processes.
By enhancing the Ministry’s ICT capabilities through the ISSP, Pathways and the Australian Government aim to foster a more efficient, data-driven approach to educational development in BARMM. This collaboration is a significant step towards achieving the Ministry’s vision of an improved education system that meets the needs of all learners.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction. With the recent plebiscite at SGA, the BARMM now has eight new municipalities as residents voted “Yes”.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities (plus eight newly established under the SGA: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)