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JOLO, Sulu — The Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) through its Directorate General for Madaris Education (DGME) has reaffirmed, Friday, Dec. 27, its dedication to educational excellence in Sulu by renewing the contracts of over 700 Islamic Studies and Arabic Language (ISAL) teachers for the first half of 2025.
This action underscores the BARMM’s commitment to supporting Sulu’s educational infrastructure and the holistic development of its students, even following the Supreme Court’s decision to exclude the province from the region.
Headed by Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal, the MBHTE is one of the 15 primary ministries of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
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, 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.
Munshimar Nasarani, a high school ISAL teacher, has expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to continue teaching at Sulu National High School (SNHS).
“We are incredibly grateful to the BARMM because even though Sulu is no longer part of the region, they still gave us the opportunity to continue teaching,” said Nasarani in Bahasa Sug (Sulu dialect).
“We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to continue what we started. So this additional year of teaching will be a way for us to leave an even greater impact on the minds of the youth,” he added.
The renewal of these contracts signifies the BARMM’s recognition of the crucial role ISAL teachers play in fostering Islamic values and providing a comprehensive education to Sulu’s youth.
This investment in human capital demonstrates a sustained commitment to maintaining high educational standards and ensuring continuity in the delivery of vital Islamic Studies instruction despite the altered political landscape.
In line with the BARMM’s dedication to its long-standing commitment to the educational advancement of all Bangsamoro people, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, the renewal of the ISAL teachers’ contracts serves as a tangible example of this ongoing commitment. (Alline Jamar M. Undikan/BIO) — (✓)