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COTABATO CITY — The Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), through its Directorate General for Madaris Education (DGME), officially launched in the city on Friday, July 26, the first-ever public madrasah in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The establishment of the public madrasah integrates with the Department of Education’s (DepEd) MATATAG Curriculum, or K-to-10, offering core Islamic subjects including Qur’an, Seerah (Life of the Prophet Muhammad, SAW), Hadith (Prophetic Narrations), Aqeedah (Islamic Creed), Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), and Arabic Language.
Bangsamoro Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal expressed pride at the milestone, saying he was proud that it is the first public madrasah established not only in BARMM but also in the entire Philippines. Further, he ensured the creation of its own school division offices (SDOs) as stipulated in the Bangsamoro Education Code.
“Bago natin ito naitatag, bago naipasa ang batas, inaral natin [ito],” Iqbal said, emphasizing the rigorous planning that preceded this launch.
(Translation: Before this was established, before the law was passed, we studied this.”
Director General for Madaris Education Tahir G. Nalg highlighted that Madrasah education today is better compared to what it was before as the National Government will now extend financial aid and assistance.
“Upon the advent of BARMM, isa po sa kanilang pinagtuunan ng pansin [ay] ang palakasin po ang Madrasah education. Ang ebidensya po nyan ay itong Directorate General for Madaris Education,” he said.
(Translation: Upon the advent of BARMM, one of their focus was to strengthen Madrasah education. The evidence is the Directorate General for Madaris Education.)
Deputy Mayor Abdullah Andang, who represented Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao, assured the city government’s support in the implementation of the Public Madrasah in the city.
Member of the Parliament (MP) Ibrahim D. Ali referred to the launch as historic, underscoring it as a significant achievement born from prolonged efforts saying, “Isa po itong malaking legacy” (This is a big legacy).
Cotabato City Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Concepcion F. Balawag also expressed support and noted that the Madrasah has a growing number of enrollees who were given Learners’ Kits.
Meanwhile, the classes will commence on July 29, 2024, with Monawara Salik appointed as the School Head of madrasah (school).
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. (✓)