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COTABATO CITY — The Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) actively participated in a series of meetings in Manila to advance key education initiatives for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Representing Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal, Atty. Mojahid S. Guro, Chief of the Legal, Legislative, and Liaison Division of MBHTE, took part in several important meetings that focused on strengthening inter-agency collaboration.
Headed by Iqbal, the MBHTE is one of the 15 primary ministries of the BARMM.
These included strategic discussions with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) on proposed Data Sharing Agreements aimed at enhancing education data integration and coordination.
A key development during the meetings was the formal agreement between DepEd and MBHTE to adopt the ISAL Curriculum for all public and private formal Madaris in the region.
DepEd also affirmed its commitment to issue an official Department Order recognizing ISAL as the standard curriculum — marking a vital step toward inclusive and culturally responsive education, and the full institutionalization of Islamic education within the national education system.
The Australian Government provided technical assistance for this initiative through the Pathways program.
Established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the Bangsamoro region 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 — now eight new municipalities — that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: 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. (✓)