PUNCHLINE
Ike
Seneres
Perhaps it will never
happen, but how I wish that good government programs will be spared from being
abolished by the new administrations as the new powers would take over. One of
the good government programs that became a victim to this political massacre in
the past is the former University of Life (UL), a subsidiary of the former
Ministry of Human Settlements. UL was an experiment in lifelong learning that
also went into distance learning. I was a Fellow at the UL, concurrently
assigned as Marketing Director.
It is
highly possible that the new administration at that time was under the belief
that the Human Settlements concept was an invention of the former First Lady
Imelda Marcos, and that was probably the reason why most of the MHS group was
abolished, along with the UL. If only they had checked the facts, they would
have discovered that the concept originated from the United Nations (UN), and
up to now, the UN has kept the concept as a continuing development framework.
As a center
of excellence for non-formal learning, the UL would have been relevant up to
today, but that is moot and academic now, because only the campus and its
buildings have survived. Fortunately, the campus and the buildings have been
put to good use, having been turned over for the use of the Department of
Education. All is well that ends well I guess, because the DEPED now has a
permanent home of its own, even if there was no plan to make it so.
I started
my MHS career at Bliss Marketing Corporation, where I worked as a Group Product
Manager and Assistant Vice President. The BMC was also another experiment,
tasked with the mission of marketing the products from the Bliss housing sites.
It was unique because it functioned like a corporation, even if it was 100%
owned by the government. I mentioned this because there was actually a
connection between the UL and BMC. The role of the UL was to teach the Bliss
residents about livelihood, the role of the BMC was to market the products that
came out of these sites.
Looking
back, it could be said that the collective purpose of the old MHS group was to
provide not only housing but also livelihood, and all other basic needs that
are part of the Integrated Area Development (IAD) approach. In between all
these, non-formal learning was a necessary component on one hand, as well as
product marketing on the other hand. All told, the overall approach of the MHS
group was not only to alleviate poverty; it was also to reduce poverty, an
important distinction that I have not forgotten up to now.
In the sense
that the old MHS group had successfully combined housing with livelihood, it
had also successfully combined learning through the UL with marketing through
the BMC. This is the perfect combination that I would like to revive, not just
for products, but also for social, environmental and cultural actions. You
might be surprised why I included cultural actions, but I have observed that in
many countries, cultural activism has its own place along with social and
environmental movements.
Being an
incurable optimist, I believe that our people will eventually learn how to
segregate garbage and to obey traffic rules if we would continue to provide for
their learning needs. Aside from garbage and traffic, there are so many
subjects that our people could learn about, and that could even include lessons
wherein they could learn how to grow their own food in their own backyards, and
how to cook nutritious foods using affordable ingredients. The list of subjects
could go on and on, because the need for learning never stops.
Even with
the pervasiveness of online learning technologies, it would still be necessary
to offer offline learning options for those who do not have access to the
internet. To some extent, television programs could also be used, but in the
overall, nothing could beat the potential of interactive learning, regardless
of whether it is online or offline.
As far as
offline learning options are concerned, the most practical venues would be
public places such as public parks, public markets and public terminals. That
is so because the people who would need to learn are already gathered in these
places. This is also where television programs or video materials could be
used, because as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
In reality,
there is actually a thin demarcation between non-formal learning and formal
learning, the difference being the academic credits that are given in the
latter. As it could probably happen however, the graduates of non-formal
learning might even be inspired to take up formal learning courses after taking
non-formal courses. Conversely, the graduates of formal courses might even want
to take up more non-formal courses to supplement what they already know.
Generally
speaking, seminars and workshops would fall under the category of non-formal
learning, because no academic credits are given for these courses. In many
countries, non-formal learning is considered to be synonymous with lifelong
learning or continuing education, among other terminologies. Adult education is
also another terminology that is used.
As you can
see, non-formal courses could be offered anywhere and everywhere. That being
the case, would it not be great if anyone could learn anything anywhere, using
any available device, or using any available location? Inspired by this
thought, the members of the Corinthian Coffee Clutch are already planning to
pilot this idea at the Rizal Park.
As it is
now, Dr. Antonio Mateo already has a rainwater collection system installed in
the park, and that installation could already be used to teach a course about
water conservation. Dr.Pepz Cunanan also has a place in the park that could
teach people about organic gardening and urban farming. Anyone interested, let
me know.
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