A Commentary on “TAYO Para Sa Edukasyon” Campaign

BACKGROUND

Through the conjunction of Department of Education and Australian Aid, the TAYO para sa Edukasyon Campaign came into life (Department of Education [DepEd], 2015). In the year when the K+12 educational system was enacted, there was an alarming number of people who were clamoring to abolish it including some people working in the arena of education. Hence, the Department of Education, through consulting representatives across country, conceptualized a way on how to unite people regarding the K+12 and other reforms in education. The fruit of this collaboration was TAYO para sa Edukasyon. This campaign intends to unite everyone such as the teachers, students, curriculum makers and stakeholders to be in solidarity and to take a stand for it is everyone's benefit.

 

CAMPAIGN MESSAGE

The campaign title is intentionally phrased to be interpreted in multiple ways:

Táyo para sa Edukasyon. “It is a statement of solidarity that recognizes that each stakeholder has an important role in providing access to quality education to Filipino learners” (DepEd, 2015).

Tayô para sa Edukasyon. “It is a call to action, borne out of a teacher's act of standing in front of learners, that engages audiences to take a stand and actively support reforms in basic education” (DepEd, 2015).

CAMPAIGN AUDIENCES 

Teachers. “Teacher as the primary DepEd representative directly engages and interfaces with the learners on a day-today basis” (DepEd, 2015).

All Members of the Education Sector (Teachers/ Administrators). “Whether we are present in the classroom or not, whether we even (literally) need to stand, our actions and the roles we fulfill become our own Stand for Education” (DepEd, 2015).

Education Partners (Parents, Community, Leaders, LGUs, General Public). “Standing, while an action most identified with a teacher, now takes on new meaning, as we call on all stakeholders to take on a personal role in the education or our nation’s learners” (DepEd, 2015).

 

COMMENTS

TAYO para sa Edukasyon is a campaign by Department of Education and is sponsored by Australian Aid. It is good that the name of the campaign already speaks for itself. It as well can be interpreted in two ways: Táyo (=we), and Tayô (=stand). It is well thought of and very creative. I think it helped to mitigate the people’s negative criticism regarding education reforms such as regarding K+12. Also, it enlightened the audiences on the importance of being part and taking a stand on education.

Nevertheless, there are some pitfalls that I see. One of which is on the social media. Their Facebook page is not that popular for the posts are not done regularly. It seemingly is passive. There is neither an Instagram nor Twitter account for this campaign. Since we are living in the information age and most people are active online, the usage of Internet and the social media to disseminate this campaign should be properly maximized.

Also, upon reviewing the TAYO para sa Edukasyon’s Communications Campaign Guidebook (pg. 15), I found out some miniscule lapses in grammar, most especially in the part of the Messages. One of which is: “Recognizes that education is inclusive, and that audiences both internal and external must take part in elevating the quality of basic education.” I suggest to change it to: “Recognizing that education is inclusive, audiences both internal and external must take part in elevating the quality of basic education.”

Another matter to consider is that the campaign does not have any specific duration. The campaign does not give its length and when it will end. It just only states that “it is a campaign that will continue to grow and evolve in the years to come…” This is vague. Hence there is no formal way of monitoring it and assessing its effectivity and efficiency. In a nutshell, it is very broad and general in nature. It would be better if the organizers add ways on how to observe its success and weaknesses, so that at a later time, the information gathered will be used as a thinking tool to optimize the campaign and better its strategies.

Though according to the official Department of Education website, the campaign is still active and ongoing, but I see that it is not that prevalent anymore in schools compared to how it was first introduced before. Perhaps, this is due to the change of administration in the department. Sadly, political changes affect campaigns and programs, too.

 

Reference

Department of Education. (2015). TAYO para sa Edukasyon campaign guidebook. Retrieved from http://www.deped.gov.ph