Angelo Tubac is the former Research, Knowledge Management, and Sustainability Manager of the Education Pathways to Peace in Mindanao Program, a Philippine-Australia partnership supporting quality inclusive K-3 education for all children in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM). He seeks to enable effective utilization of empirical evidence for decision-making, policy, and program development in the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE).

When Angelo Tubac joined the Education Pathways to Peace in Mindanao program, he came at an opportune time. The regional government was transitioning from ARMM to BARMM, and there was a change in leadership from the DepEd ARMM to the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE). Dubbed as a “super ministry,” the MBHTE houses the tri-focalized national system of the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Although the BARMM parliament passed the Education Code and Admin Code which served as the legal basis of the MBHTE and its structure, there was still a need for clarity in terms of the overlapping functions within the ministry. Questions such as “which unit is responsible for ensuring that field and empirical data (from the 11 Schools Division Office and externally funded research) are used to inform evidence-based policy development?” were left unanswered.

Apart from the MBHTE’s retention of its Mancom and Execom meeting arrangements, there was no other mechanism where internal monitoring and evaluation (M&E) data and empirical data from internally and externally funded studies (i.e., Basic Education Research Fund or BERF) were used to shape the interventions and policy direction of the ministry.

Results of externally funded studies are disseminated through the efforts of contractors, non-government units (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs). How these studies inform policy within the ministry is largely driven by donor-funded organizations. But internally within the MBHTE, the process is a challenge. It can be assumed that this is due to the organization’s unmet capacity development needs, lack of an unclear ministry structure, or both.

Importance of coalition building

One of the important tenets of Development Entrepreneurship is coalition building, and Angelo did the groundwork to find and reach out to the right partners and audience.

“I requested the sibling of the newly appointed DG (Director General) of Basic Education to help me with the introductions—this turned out to be a good approach because I was able to get an audience with the DG,” Angelo shared.

He added that in their succeeding meetings, Angelo requested the DG of Higher Education, who is a champion of data-driven policies and programs, to lead the opening discussion on the background of the studies funded by their program. He also had the chance to share the findings from SLAB (Student Learning Assessment for Bangsamoro), and the recommendations that needed to be addressed, given the alarming results.

“Overall, the outcome of our meeting was positive, and we agreed on the ways forward. A lesson learned from the meeting is that it’s always important to have someone from your inner circle to support your advocacy,” said Angelo. He has since established connections with the Curriculum Division, Field Operations, and other divisions and units of the MBHTE.

Confluence of factors led to BARMM’s learning crisis

A confluence of factors has been identified as major contributors to the learning crisis in BARMM. These include: education access, malnutrition, overcrowded curriculum, issues related to teacher training and management, unified structure, and lack of policies and programs to address the learning needs.

Angelo and his team also found out that the perceived underutilization of empirical evidence was caused by two factors: (1) the absence or lack of a mechanism to enable both the discourse and the process; and (2) the lack or absence of available empirical data to MBHTE leadership.

“Removing those bottlenecks will require creating a body that will oversee the implementation of assessments or studies, lead the dissemination and utilization of results, and recommend the development of evidence-based policies and plans of action in response to those results,” said Angelo.

With persistence and help from their supporters, the MBHTE, through Regional Memorandum Order No. 643 s.2022, was signed by the Honorable Minister Iqbal, which created the Technical Working Group (TWG) on Assessment. The TWG is comprised of members from the regional offices of the Directorate General of Basic Education and Madaris Education; and 11 School Division Offices (SDOs) across five provinces of the BARMM.

Angelo also reported that at the six-month end of The Asia Foundation’s Development Entrepreneurship Mentoring program, they have also signed a Regional Memorandum Order that created a Capacity Development Self-Assessment Tool to assess the needs of the TWG members against their specific mandates, and a program of activities awaiting budget implementation.

Mentoring activities

Every Saturday at 5:30 in the afternoon, Angelo met with his mentor Men Sta. Ana, alongside another 2^nd Cohort Mentee, Keith Jablo. Among their notable activities were the discussions they had on analyzing binding constraints, stakeholder engagements, little “wins” for the week, and regular consultation and mentoring sessions.

“The Saturday conversations were not only a mentoring session, but a conversation about life itself—full of lessons, timeless wisdom, and aspirations,” Angelo said.

“It was wonderful to have two people celebrate with you during your proud moments, and listen to your despair when planned activities are not met or when funding is a challenge,” Angelo added. “Through our mentoring activities, my ways of approaching the problem changed. I became more proactive and resourceful in bringing about the change that I wanted to see in my policy idea.”