Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
The maintenance of government schools facilities in the country has been a major problem due to limited funds. “ The limited budget of the Department of Education compromises proper maintenance and repair of schools nationwide. As a result, individual school faces the reality of aging infrastructure, increasingly dilapidated structures and, in some cases, abandoned facilities that could pose safety hazards to students and pupils” (DepEd Memorandum No. 79, s. 2003).
With Republic Act 8525 or the Adopt-a-School Program which allows private companies and professionals to support government elementary, secondary, or tertiary educational institutions, there was hope that this problem among schools would be addressed without spending the school’s MOOE which is also very minimal. This law grants 150% tax free incentives to recognize donors’ goodwill and act of kindness.
Furthermore, the Department of Education launched the National Schools
Maintenance Week in May 2003 to bring the spirit of adopt-a-school in locality. (Brigada Eskwela Manual for School Heads).To make the program sustainable DepEd launched the Search for Brigada Eskwela Best Implementer to encourage schools to advocate the program and recognize their effort and best practices (DM 68, s. 2015). However, a very few schools from the Division of Negros Occidental take part.
In the Municipality of Murcia, improvement and maintenance of physical facilities has been one of the major issues that school heads are facing due to the limited budget provided to government schools in the form of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE). With the launching of Brigada Eskwela Program by the Department of Education, it was at first believed that this program would resolve problems relative to school facilities and maintenance. Yet, school heads find it hard to generate resources
for their school repairs during Brigada Eskwela. Not many of our schools received donations from business sectors and other stakeholders, especially schools in far flung areas. This could have been due to lack of intensive advocacy and awareness about the tax incentives or lack of knowledge on the procedure to avail of such incentive.
In our school, we do have encountered related problems. First, teachers who are the members of the Brigada Eskwela working committees could hardly perform their basic duties due to summer vacation and mass training for teachers. Secondly, due to limited sources of funds, school heads and teachers are the ones spending personal resources to address gaps. Most teachers are hesitant to solicit every year because the same persons are capable of helping financially. Very few professionals and financially able persons are residing in the locality. Not all respond to solicitations due to negative perceptions and poverty. Thirdly, not all parents and stakeholders can extend more days in school volunteering because of their personal needs and jobs. Very few fathers or skilled workers are joining. Finally, student volunteers are not skilled in doing carpentry, electrical, plumbing and painting jobs. They are prone to minor accidents or injuries. Exposures to lead which are common in paints poses health hazards (Retrieved from http:// cebudailynews.inquirer,net/30179/leadsafe-brigada-eskwela). Moreover, despite of the memorandum of no disruption of classes, a school that joins the search and awaits for the validation can’t ideally follow the no disruption of classes policy of the
preparations.
Hence, the researcher is interested to evaluate Brigada Eskwela implementation among schools. She wants to know if it really addressed school needs, how is it implemented to meet its objectives.What are its strengths or benefits, problems encountered or the weaknesses of the program and if there are also best practices by schools that would help solve issues and improve program implementation. The researcher also wants to provide information that would serve as basis for decision making regarding the program.
Statement of the Problem
This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of Brigada Eskwela in the last five years among public elementary and secondary schools in the Municipality of Murcia, Negros Occidental. Specifically, this research sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the public secondary and elementary schools’ profile in terms of:
a) School Size b) School Level c) No. of teachers d) Enrollment
e) Best Brigada Eskwela Implementer Search Entry
2. What is the extent of Brigada Eskwela Program Implementation in three stages when assessed as a whole and by:
a) Principals
b) Brigada Eskwela Coordinators c) Teachers
d) Parents e) Students f) Alumni
g) School District
3. What is the extent of Brigada Eskwela Implementation in three stages when grouped according to the school profile?
a) School Size b) School Level c) No. of teachers d) Enrollment
e) Best Brigada Eskwela Search Entry
4. What are the benefits derived from the Brigada Eskwela Implementation?
5. What are the identified best practices of schools in the implementation of Brigada Eskwela?
6. What are the challenges encountered by the stakeholders in the implementation of the Brigada Eskwela?
7. What stakeholder’s participation program may be drawn from the study?
Theoretical Framework of the Study
The concept of volunteerism or “bayanihan” spirit is supported by the Social Exchange theory which views volunteer commitment to have straight link to the concept of reciprocal exchanges. People get attached to volunteering with an
organization when their self-interests blend with the interests and needs of the social group (Kanter, 1972 and Sherr, 2003).
This theory sheds light on stakeholders’ participation in Brigada Eskwela as the focus of this study. It explains why people, professionals, private or
government organizations or companies may come to school to volunteer and share their resources during the Brigada Week.
Conceptual Framework
The framework of this study is based on Stufflebeam’s (2003) model. CIPP evaluation model "which is one of the most effective model of systematic pattern", (Eseryl, 2002, P 93-98 as cited in Mohebbi, 2011) “is used as theoretical basics of this research. CIPP evaluation model is a comprehensive framework to conduct evaluation of programs, projects, products, institutions and systems” (Stufflebeam, 2007 as cited in Mohebbi,2011). “It, based on a systematic approach and attention to context, input or available resources, processes and results, could help managers and planners categorize priority needs and also to serve available resources to the best type of activity with continuous monitoring of program” (Stufflebeam, 2002; Stufflebeam & Nevo, 1993 as cited in Mohebbi, 2011). Stufflebeam believes that verifiable grounds regarding the strength of various elements of the system are gathered in order to evaluate insufficiency and to propose change (Posadas, 2008). Stufflebeam model’s components (context, input,
process and product) take the form of a system linking together to form operating structure of an organization (Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/ 10.1007/978-94-009-6669-7_7#page-1).
The model begins with context. Context evaluation determines what needs are addressed by a program and what program already exists which helps in defining the objectives for the program. “It serves planning decisions by identifying unmet needs, unused opportunities and underlying problems that prevent the meeting or needs or the use of opportunities” (Stufflebeam, 1971 as cited inTokmak, Barutay and Fadde, 2013). In this study, the context being evaluated includes the Brigada Eskwela implementer’s profile (size, level, number of teachers, total current enrollment , and if the school has been an entry to the Annual Search for Best Brigada Eskwela Implementer).
Input evaluation determines what resources are available, what alternative strategies for the program should be considered, and what plan seems to have the best potential for meeting the needs. This facilitates the work plan of the program. “ It serves as structuring decisions by projecting and analyzing alternative procedural designs”(Stufflebeam, 1971 as cited in Tokmak, Barutay and Fadde, 2013).
In this study, the input includes evaluation of the Brigada Eskwela Program extent of implementation namely: a)pre-implementation stage evaluation which covers various strategies to ensure the success of the implementation of the program, e.i alignment of the needs of the school to the School Improvement Plan, ocular assessment of needs, crafting of work plan, organization of steering committees and working committees, identifying resources needed and target partners/donors and matching type of works with skills of volunteers needed b) implementation stage evaluation which includes various activities or scope of works during the Brigada week, and c) post-implementation stage evaluation which includes culminating activity, transparency, reporting, pledge for sustainability and assessing if program objectives are met.
Process evaluation assesses the implementation of plans or activities. “It serves implementing decisions by monitoring project operations”(Stufflebeam, 1971 as cited inTokmak, Barutay and Fadde, 2013). In this study, in order to evaluate the plans or activities, the researcher conducted the following: a)documentary analysis taking into account the schools’ profile b)evaluation on the extent of the program’s implementation using survey, c) focused group discussion d) interview and e) open-ended written questions on benefits, best practices and challenges encountered in implementing the program.
The identified benefits may support the study and help affirm the effectiveness and limitation of the program. Best practices employed by schools will also be gathered as basis for future program implementation. Determining the challenges or difficulties experienced by schools in Brigada Eskwela implementation will be beneficial in improving the program. According to Daniel L. Stufflebeam “The purpose of the evaluation is to improve and not to prove” (Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/ blogd/nonprofit-capacity-building/2012/01/08/four-differences-between-research-and-program-evaluation).
Product evaluation identifies and assesses outcomes, short-term and long term effects, effectiveness of the program. It “ serves recycling decisions by determining the degree which objectives have been achieved and by determining the cause of the obtained results (Stufflebeam, 1971 as cited in Tokmak, Barutay and Fadde, 2013). In this study, the product refers to the program that will be determined base on the result of the study in order to improve the implementation of the program and address the school’s needs.
The diagram below illustrates the conceptual framework of the study.
Figure 1: Schematic Diagram of the Conceptual Framework of the Study (Adopted from Stufflebeam’s CIPP Model)
This evaluation covered the five years implementation of Brigada Eskwela program (2012-2016) among 28 public elementary and 5 secondary schools in the Municipality of Murcia, Division of Negros Occidental. Participants of this evaluation were the school principals , Brigada Eskwela coordinators, teachers, students, parents, and alumni for a total of six participants per school.
The gathering of data was done using a researcher-constructed survey
questionnaire, interview and focus group discussions. Survey tool was based on the Brigada Eskwela Manual for School Heads of the Department of Education, DepEd Memorandum 35, s. 2016 and DepEd Regional Memorandum 212, s. 2016. There are three (3) open-ended questions for an in-depth gathering of related details and
experiences. The instrument is composed of two parts. Part I elicits the extent of Brigada Eskwela Implementation in three stages namely: pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation stage. Items included here are describing specific activities for diverse participation, and accomplishments of scope of work, roles and functions. The second part of the survey are open-ended questions on benefits, best practices and challenges encountered by stakeholders in the Brigada Eskwela
Implementation. Focus Group Discussion was utilized in the qualitative portion of the study to generate a deeper understanding of experiences relative to the program and were used to validate and back-up results of the survey and open-ended responses.
Focus Group Discussion was not conducted to the group of students due to time constraints and the risk for pupils/students to travel from their homes to the venue. In lieu of this, the researcher conducted an interview with pupils in two schools to validate results.
The result of this study is of various importance to the different groups of people in the community.
Department of Education, Central, Division and Regional Offices. This study may provide them the data on the extent of the implementation of the program in the grassroots level. The data that will be gathered on the benefits of Brigada Eskwela may give them affirmations to what extent is really Brigada Eskwela of benefit to the school; does Brigada Eskwela reach its objectives and whether the schools have improved their performance or not. Findings of the study may also give them with the information whether or not schools follow the provisions of the DepEd Orders and the memorandum on the implementation of the program. Determining the best practices among schools that have successfully implemented the program is also beneficial for replications among other divisions and regions in the country. The challenges encountered by schools related to Brigada Eskwela may provide them with ideas on how to be of help to the
implementing schools. The result of this study may be of most value if used as basis for decision making.
Local Government Units (Barangay, Municipal and Congressional LGUs), Government Agencies, Private Corporations, Religious Groups, Individual
Professionals. Findings of the evaluation may be a basis for these group of stakeholders
to put value on their support to schools. They may see how important they are as volunteers and partners of education since they have bigger resources. They may learn that every effort and any forms of donation they give voluntarily produces positive outcome for the school and the students who would someday enter into the labor force and they are partners in producing the kind of manpower that will man the organizations, companies and any government offices.
Community. It takes the whole village to educate a child. Brigada Eskwela is
bayanihan which means that it won’t be called as such without the support of the community. The school is a pride of the community when it becomes a happy, clean,
beautiful and friendly place for all students and stakeholders. The school is entrusted to produce future members of the society who are contributors to economic progress and nation building. The community may gain confidence that their children are in good hands. Brigada Eskwela Program may help promote this kind of image and impact of the school to the community. When the school is doing good, the community also benefit from it because this is where students live.
School Heads. School heads play the most vital role in the implementation of the
program. This evaluation may provide them with information on their performance in the implementation of the program. The process may also provide them with the basis for decision making. Both positive and negative data may guide them in improving the implementation of the program. Theories on volunteerism explain various reasons why certain group of people, organization, professionals get to volunteer. Volunteer groups and individuals have varied motivations and levels of satisfaction in volunteering. In order to generate more resources and improve linkages, this study provides school heads information on how to improve advocacy in their school especially on the preparation stage and to retain the support of stakeholders for a sustainable program. The result of this evaluation may serve as basis for designing a developmental program.
Brigada Coordinator/ School Physical Facilities Coordinator/Steering Committees. The quality of preparations and extent of efforts determine the level of
success in every program implementation. Hence, the study may provide these groups of people data on how the program is assessed for improvement in their activities,
practices, and increase participation. This study may serve as a turning point for implementers to follow the guidelines set by the DepEd for better results. Challenges encountered may be prevented. Good results for the beneficiaries will be attained.
Teachers. The support group, the implementers and the participants of Brigada
practices and how to overcome challenges. The result of the evaluation may help them see areas for improvement. Findings on program benefits may also let them see
directions and elicit authentic support from stakeholders.
Parents and Guardians. This study may help them understand better the purpose of
the program for their children and their role in the school so that they will increase their time on tasks during Brigada Eskwela Week and in all activities that the school will undertake. Since part of the evaluation are interviews and focus group discussions, in depth results will be generated and this may make them realize and embrace a culture of ownership of accountability of the school and improve a better perception towards the program and not a requirement but a passion to be united to render voluntary service.
Students. Students are the center of learning and the most reason for the program implementation in all public schools. The result of this study may be utilized for improving Brigada Eskwela program that will benefit students primarily because the school will become safe, child friendly, and conducive for learning. Findings of this research will also be a basis for improvement of the program. This study may help instill values of bayanihan or voluntarism among our students.
Future Researchers. A very limited research has been conducted to evaluate
Brigada Eskwela Program. Likewise published study on Brigada Eskwela is also limited. This study hopes to address this gap in related literature. The findings, conclusions and recommendations of the study may provide information or references for a similar program evaluation and for suggestive further related research topics that may arise to substantiate information on Brigada Eskwela Program.
To have a common understanding of the salient terms used in this study, both conceptual and operational definitions are provided herein:
Benefits. Benefits refers to the compensation/salary and other monetary and non-monetary benefits passed on by a firm to its employees (Retrieved from www.mbaskool.com › Concepts › Human Resource (HR). In this study this term refers to the advantages or any forms of goodness that Brigada Eskwela Program implementation has resulted to the school, teachers, learners and community.
Best BE Implementer Search Entry. It refers to the state wherein a school is
included as one of the contingents in the search for Best Brigada Eskwela (BE)
Implementer (DM 68, s. 2015). In this study this refers to the schools who have joined the search for Best Brigada Eskwela Implementer within the past five years.
Best Practices. In this study, best practices refers to the actions or unique actions
or initiatives implemented or institutionalized by the school that aided or helped facilitated the success of the Brigada Eskwela in the school.
Brigada Eskwela Program. Itis a schools maintenance program nationwide that engages all education stakeholders to contribute their time, efforts and resources in ensuring that public schools are all set in time for class opening. It is a week long event where local communities, parents, alumni, civic groups, local businesses, NGOs, private individuals and even teachers and students to volunteer their time skills to do minor to major repairs and maintenance work in schools (D.O. 24, s.2008). Its main objective is to bring together teachers, parents and the community to do clean up and repairs in public schools to prepare the facilities for the school opening
(Retrieved from http://www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-24-s-2008). It has three stages namely:
Brigada Eskwela Pre-Implementation Stage. Pre-Implementation stage refers to
the period before the implementation of the program which starts January of each year. It includes activities such as assessment of physical facilities and maintenance needs of schools, resource mobilization, organization of Brigada Eskwela committees and their orientation on specific roles and tasks among others (DepEd Order 35, s. 2016 and BE Manual). In this study, the same definition or concept is used.
Brigada Eskwela Implementation Stage. This refers to the “during” or the actual
Brigada Eskwela week scheduled two week prior to the opening of classes (D.O. 24, s 2008). This is when all stakeholders: the school personnel together with the parents, community private and public volunteers come to school to do minor repairs, painting, cleaning and other maintenance works, weeding, landscaping and ensure that the school is safe and ready before the opening of classes (Brigada Eskwela Manual).
Brigada Eskwela Post-implementation stage. It is the period after the last day of the conduct of the week-long Brigada Eskwela activities. It is during this period that the school head puts together all the data reflected in the different forms completed and submitted by the different working committees,
particularly by the Documentation Committee, to form part of the school’s accomplishment report. (BE Manual). In this study, the same concept of post implementation stage is used. This is also the period when the school head
acknowledges supports of stakeholders and tries to sustain efforts and supports of stakeholders .
Brigada Eskwela Steering Committee/s. This is an organized group that shall
spearhead the implementation of the Brigada Eskwela Program and shall
oversee the various efforts to be undertaken for the program such as marketing and advocacy, resource mobilization, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation. This includes positions such as the Overall Chairman: School Head / Principal, Co-Chairman: PTCA President or Representative, Members : School
Physical Facilities Coordinator, or the Barangay Chairman/Representative, School Governing Council, Private Sector Representative, Selected Teachers/Students, Others (BE Manual). This definition is likewise used in this study.
Challenges. In this study challenges operationally refers to the difficult experiences
encountered by the school in the process of implementing Brigada Eskwela.
Context Evaluation. Evaluation “contexts” focus on environment which is the
change will occur and problems will appear. The purpose of this evaluation is to identify the appropriate of the environment in order to achieve the mission and objective program (Retrieved from http://eprints.utm.my/13287/1/aziziyahcipp.pdf). It determines what
needs are addressed by a program and what program already exists which helps in defining the objectives for the program. The context of the study refers to the documentary analysis of the profile of the Brigada Eskwela Program implementers.
Documentary Analysis. It is a form of qualitative research in which documents are interpreted by the researcher to give voice and meaning around an
assessment topic. Analyzing documents incorporates coding content into themes similar to how focus group or interview transcripts are analyzed. (Retrieved from studentresearch.ucsd.
edu/_files/assessment/Assessment-Methods.pdf). In this study the documentary analysis refers to the analysis of the school’s profile only.
Enrollment. It refers to the total number of students registered in the school.
In this study, this term refers to the sum of students’ enrolled in the participating schools of the study particularly in the Municipality of Murcia for the academic year 2016-2017 including Senior High School.
Extent of Brigada Eskwela Implementation. It is conceptually defined as the
the extent of implementation refers to the degree of putting into practice the functions, efforts, resources of the Brigada Eskwela implementers and external stakeholders particularly in the three stages of implementation: pre-implementation, implementation and pot-implementation stages of Brigada Eskwela 2016.
Feedback. It is an information presented that allows comparison between an actual
outcome and a desired outcome. Tucker (1993) points out that feedback is particularly important when evaluating dynamic instructional programs because its presence or absence can “dramatically affect the accuracy required of human judgment and decision making” (p. 303) as cited in Mory (p.746) (Retrieved from http://www.aect.org/edtech/ ed1/29.pdf). In this study feedback refers to the process in which the result of the study will be communicated to the concerned persons for the improvement of the program.
Focused Group Discussions. It could be defined as a group of interacting individuals having some common interest or characteristics, brought together by a moderator, who uses the group and its interaction as a way to gain information about a specific or focused issue (Retrieved from
https://ag.arizona.edu/sfcs/cyfernet/cyfar/
focus.htm). In this study focus group discussion refers to the group of the participants (e.g. BE Coordinators, principals, teachers, alumni, parents and students) who will be interacting, discussing and validating the results of the survey conducted. They will be sharing their observations, judgment to the result of the study base on their real life observations of the program implementation in their schools.
Input Evaluation. Input evaluation will measure the effort of the system and input
from the strategies and the sources. This evaluation is used to arrange result and will be use for guidance in choosing the program strategies and the changes that can be done (Retrieved from http://eprints.utm.my/13287/1/aziziyahcipp.pdf). In this study input refers to the evaluation of Brigada Eskwela Extent of pre- implementation, implementation and post-implementation stages of the program.
Number of Teachers. In this study this refers to the total population of teachers
employed with or without plantilla item working in the school in the current year.
Participative Community. This term operationally refers to the state in which
people in the community help each other for the welfare of the school.
Process Evaluation. This ensures the processes while program is still in progress.
The purpose of this stage is to find out the objective and mission. This evaluation will act as the monitoring for a program that still in a progress (Retrieved from http://eprints. utm.my/13287/1aziziyahcipp.pdf). In this study process evaluation includes documentary analysis of schools’ profile, evaluation of the extent of Brigada Eskwela program implementation.
Product Evaluation. Product evaluation focus to the result of the program after it is
finished (Retrieved from http://eprints.utm.my/13287/1/aziziyahcipp.pdf). In this study product evaluation refer to the Stakeholders’ Participation Program that will be designed to improve the Brigada Eskwela Program implementation in schools.
School’s Profile. The School Profile is a piece of collateral put together by the school that includes information about the student body and the types of classes offered by the school, such as AP, IB, etc. It usually lists figures like graduation rate and other notable facts about the school (Retrieved from
https://questbridge.zendesk.com/hc/
en-us/articles/218777437-What-is-a-School-Profile-)In this study, the school profile refers to the size of the school (small and large). Small schools have a population of 1000 and below; while small schools have a total enrollment of above 1000 as per DepEd Regional memo 55, s. 2016.
Sequential Explanatory Design. It is a mixed method design characterized
analysis of qualitative data. Its purpose is to use qualitative results to assist in explaining and interpreting the findings of a quantitative study (Retrieved from https://researchrundowns.com/mixed/mixed-methods-research-designs/).
School Size. This term refers to the size category of the school base on school’s
enrollment in the context of Brigada Eskwela. The school with 1000 enrollment and below is considered small, while the school with enrollment more than 1000 is
considered large school (Regional Memo 055, s.2016). The same concept of definition was used in the study.
Stakeholders. This refers to any identifiable group or individual who can affect the
achievement of an organization’s objectives (Freeman, and Reed, 1983 as cited in Gossy, 2008, p.5). In this study these are internal (teachers, students)and external stakeholders (private persons and companies, LGUs, religious groups, government agencies, professionals, alumni) who support the schools during Brigada Eskwela.
Stakeholder’s Participation. This refers to the act by which internal and
external stakeholders volunteer to do repairs, other maintenance works in school in the entire Brigada Eskwela program implementation. It also refers to their act of donating in cash of in kind to the school before, during and after Brigada Eskwela implementation (Brigada Eskwela Manual). The same definition will be used in this context.
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter presents concepts and studies related on Brigada Eskwela program implementation, benefits, best practices and challenges. The purpose of this review of related literature is to establish facts, background and updates about Brigada Eskwela Program or the National Schools Maintenance Week implementation, volunteer motivation and reasons for the occurrence of problems and challenges while
implementing a certain program in an organization as well as schools best practices. This review also provides affirmations as to the benefits of Brigada Eskwela based on
published source both foreign and local. Furthermore, the review of literature helps the researcher enriched her studies by drawing out inferences related to her topic.
History of Brigada Eskwela
In February 14, 1998, during the Tenth Congress in Metro Manila, Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines, enacted and approved Republic Act 8525, “An Act Establishing an Adopt-A-School Program, Providing Incentives therefor, and for other Purposes” and was also known and cited as “Adopt-A-School Act of 1998” (R.A. 8525, section 1. p.1, ). The law was enacted during the time of President Ramos to encourage volunteerism and public-private partnership in public education, (Bunye, 2015). This law was sponsored by Rep. Anne Marie Periquet at the House of Representatives, but full credit went to former DepEd Secretary Edilberto de Jesus who successfully pushed for the promulgation of the necessary Implementing Rules and Regulations from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (Sibayan, 2012).
To bring the spirit of Adopt-A-School Program in the communities, in May 2003, during the time of President Arroyo, (Bunye, 2015), the Department of Education launched the National Schools Maintenance Week. Dubbed as Brigada Eskwela, it encourages all stakeholders in the community to work together and contribute support for
the minor repairs, maintenance and repainting of the school furniture, walls, roofings, cleaning of classrooms in order to prepare the school and start the first day of classes smoothly.
Brigada Eskwela is voluntary in nature, however, schools are mandated to ensure the readiness of the school and participation of the community. Paragraph 2 of the said DepEd memorandum 79,s. 2015 stipulates that “Brigada Eskwela is a purely voluntary effort. Principal and Teachers-in-charged are encouraged but not required to organize a local school maintenance week”. (Retrieved from http://www.deped.gov.ph/sites/ default/files/memo/2003/DM-s.2003-079.pdf). Furthermore, DepEd Memorandum No. 35, s. 2016 paragraph 1 emphasized that “All education stakeholders are encouraged to participate and contribute their time, effort and resources to this school maintenance effort in ensuring that all public school facilities are ready for the school opening in June”. The same memorandum informs the field that all regional directors and schools division superintendents shall mobilize their Adopt-a-School Program/Brigada Eskwela coordinators to ensure a six-day implementation of the maintenance effort in all public elementary and secondary schools and to ensure involvement of the community and local stakeholder to this activity.” These provisions of the tells that though it is voluntary but schools cannot say that they will not organize efforts otherwise they will find it difficult to ensure that schools facilities will be ready without the efforts of groups of people and experts in doing school repairs and maintenance.
The school is the key to success of this program. It will organize its own effort through the PTA or Parent-Teacher Association starting January-February of each year. Steering committee are assigned. Needs of the schools are identified. Materials and manpower are identified and resources are generated. Advocacy is also organized for more participation. Brigada Eskwela Manual provides guidelines on what committees to organize including their functions. Time frame are provided when to generate materials base on the areas of repairs and maintenance needs of the school. Letters are
sent to all stakeholders who fills out the “Interest Forms” and checks items what they can do and share to the school. Businesses are being approached for donations in kind (paint, cement, wood, etc.The support of the local school board is necessary.. During the National Schools Maintenance Week, the school initiates an opening program, orients the participants on the work flow, receive donations, documents all works and on the last day all brigada efforts are consolidated,reported and stakeholder are recognized (Excerpt from NSMW Proposal, Attachment to D.O. 79, s. 2003).
This concerted effort did not involve budget allocation on the part of the Department of Education, (Claro, 2007) although volunteers may have to spend for the program. (Retrieved from
http://documents.mx/download/link/implementation-of-brigada-eskwela). Brigada Eskwela is a government program launched with the
underlying purpose of transferring the burden of government responsibility to the community in the light of the decreasing budget allocation of the
government education, (Brigada Eskwela Manual).
Former DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, described Brigada Eskwela as the “longest manifestation of people power in the Philippines” because he sees that every year the spirit of bayanihan is alive and kicking not just when calamities strike. It is a genuine public-private partnership in action, absent any motive of gain and
self-aggrandizement but borne out of altruism and love for the Filipino kids and their safety (Retrieved from http://cebudailynews.inquirere,net/30179/lead safe-brigada-eskwela).
Paragraph 8 of the said DepEd Order 35,s.2016 presents activity matrix for the conduct of Brigada Eskwela which includes: 1) Pre-Implementation stage (Assessment of physical facilities and maintenance, needs of schools, resource mobilization,
organization of Brigada Eskwela committees and their orientation on specific roles and tasks among others) March 1- May 1, 2016, and Brigada Eskwela kick-off program and
caravan- May 30, 2016 2) Implementation and Monitoring of Schools- May 30-June 4, 2016, 3) Post-implementation which stipulates schedules submission of consolidated Brigada Eskwela accomplishment reports by the Regional Coordinators to the EPS-ASP Secretariat - July 30, 2016, selection and deliberation of Brigada Eskwela Awardee Candidates- July 1 to August 8, 2016, submission of final list of school candidates as Brigada Eskwela National Awardees to the ASP Secretariat-Central Office (CO), conduct of Brigada Regional Awards Ceremony- September 1-30 and conduct of Brigada Eskwela National Awarding Ceremony November 24, 2016.
Included in this memorandum are the school safety and preparedness guide for safe learning facilities, school disaster management and disaster risk reduction in
education. “ Disaster preparedness of schools is an important factor to achieve resilience in our communities. DepEd, through Brigada Eskwela, seeks to mainstream disaster preparedness principles in readying schools for the opening of classes”. (Stakeholders Engagement Strategy, p.2, Enclosure to D.O. 35, s. 2016).
Brigada Eskwela “Bayanihan” or Volunteerism Views and Concepts
Education Undersecretary for Partnerships and Linkages Mario Deriquito said that Brigada Eskwela is bayanihan for schools.(Rojas, 2016). “DepEd aims to unite
communities for the purpose of ensuring a better future for the next generation.” (Rojas, 2016). It poses the challenge of this famous value of bayanihan or cooperation this school year in which Filipino people is known of (Retrieved from http://www.rappler. com/move-ph/134497-deped-ready-brigada-eskwela-senior-high-school).
According to Teresita E. Sibayan, Principal I, Dampe Elementary School, “Brigada Eskwela is the modern day bayanihan evolved from “sama-sama,” “tulong-tulong,” and “pagkakaisa” mentality of the Filipino people.” Brigada Eskwela encourages and fosters amongst
its students and youth sector the value of civic action and social-responsibility gearing toward the improving the quality of basic education system in the country (Retrieved from https://
dampeelementaryschool.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/brigada-eskwela/).
According to Adopt-a-School Program online press release, “over the years, the Brigada Eskwela effort has evolved from a week-long cleaning-up and beautification exercise to a festive coming together of students, teachers, school officials, parents, community members, local government officials, non-government organizations, church groups, and the private sector” (Retrieved from https://dampeelementaryschool.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/
brigada-eskwela).
This year’s Brigada Eskwela with the theme “Tayo Para sa Paaralang Ligtas, Maayos, at Handa Mula Kindergarten to senior High School” aims to engage volunteerism from education stakeholders like the local government units from provincial to barangay, private partners, academe, civil society organizations, private corporations and individual volunteers to join school preparedness and safety measures during the Brigada Eskwela. More than repair and repainting, beautification and
maintenance, the local communities need to ensure student’s safety. As such, they are all encouraged to be partners in the process. (DepEd Order 35, s. 2016).
Many different types of organizations including nonprofit, government, and education rely on the service of volunteers. Why do people volunteer? According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of Deci and Ryan’s (1985, 2002) as cited in Fendo, Molly(2013) a person’s drive of doing something is based on the premise that social environments satisfy the universal basic psychological needs of man including autonomy (ability to decide one’s own behavior and make one’s own decisions), competence (person’s perceived ability and self-efficacy related to a particular skill set), and relatedness (sense of connection with others, the giving and receiving of love, and belonging to a community of peers according to Baumeister & Leary (1995) as cited in Frendo (2013). Individuals are moved to
learn for the satisfaction of learning something new and being more effective (Ryan & Deci, 2000b as cited in Frendo, 2013).
Ellis (2009) as cited in Alla ( 2015), enumerates reasons why people volunteer: the feel of need, to make new friends, to help someone in need, to show belief in an impact, to have fun and because they are being asked to volunteer. For some people it’s about making choices to do things to help society in ways that go beyond their basic
obligations. It’s more than working without pay. It also encourages individual’s capacity building while simultaneously addressing community social problems. According to the systems theory and ecological perspective agencies, businesses, and organizations providing opportunities for volunteerism can generate positive public relations and have volunteers to carry out their operations. From a community perspective, volunteering can change how people think about others, bring different cultures together and foster an overall feeling of participation and trust among community members (Retrieved from http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf/SW_w_Volunteers_Chapter_03.pdf). From the study of theology and philosophy phenomenology theory explains that constructed realities develop through social interaction of people with each other. Since people have different life experiences based on their social context, volunteerism may also occur in many different social contexts and at the same time, though people live in the same location, culture or family,they may have different ways of understanding similar experiences. Consistent with the view of this theory, volunteerism is also a way of helping people find new and more relevant meaning in their lives (Retrieved from
http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf/SW_w_Volunteers_Chapter_03.pdf). That is probably one of the reasons of foundations organized to serve the community and schools because of this experience. While, conflict theory which centralized on power, surplus value and subjection believes that volunteerism gives people, regardless of age, gender, education level, marital status, and socio-economic level, with a chance to take part in the
community which allows them with access to different amounts and types of power to interact with each other for a joint purpose and the ones who form the parameters of volunteerism are those with bigger income, and professionals. Studies in America show
that people with higher incomes are the ones who like to volunteer. Those who have finished college are also volunteering. This show that those in power have the tendency to model volunteerism. When it come to surplus value in volunteerism, in business for instance, an employee who volunteers create relationship with stakeholders and consumers which help the company gain more customers ( Retrieved from http:// lyceumbooks.com/pdf/SW_w_Volunteers_Chapter_03.pdf).
Social Exchange theory views volunteer commitment to have straight link to the concept of reciprocal exchanges. People get attached to volunteering with an
organization when their self-interests blend with the interests and needs of the social group (Kanter, 1972 and Sherr, 2003b).
Empowerment theory believes that volunteering promotes individual storytelling, awareness, and eventually critical consciousness and offer potential for collective action (Rerieved from http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf/SW_w_Volunteers_Chapter_03.pdf).
Maslow’s theory offers a unique perspective for understanding volunteerism. It says that volunteerism is simply an activity that let people experience self-actualization and self-transcendence. It provides people opportunities to experience dignity, justice, meaning mastery, and love for others (Retrieved from http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf/ SW_w_Volunteers_Chapter_03.pdf).
According to the Social Learning Theory, modeling and imitation are its central processes of this theory and the main concept is self-efficacy. When people feel that self-efficacy they tend to gain an expectation about themselves that they can do more larger in a more involved tasks (Bandura, 1977, 1986 as cited in Frendo, 2013 ). Social learning theory provides a useful framework for conceptualizing volunteerism.
Family and and friends are often the paths by which people come to volunteer. When children hear about their parents volunteering they also tend to volunteer.
Likewise, when friends heard colleagues at work volunteer and shared about their experiences, they also shared their willful thoughts of volunteering. The behavior of the people who are volunteering are reinforced by the the people they are working with and they develop self-efficacy. The more they volunteer, the more they develop self-confidence and later on become leaders until they become adults and still continue volunteering (Retrieved from
http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf SW_w_Volunteers_Chapter_03.pdf.).
Benefits of Brigada Eskwela
Brigada Eskwela brought several benefits to the school and the community. It starts from generation of resources for the schools thus augmenting the school financial status or the MOOE, school improvement, strengthening the spirit of bayanihan between the external stakeholders and the government, enlivens social responsibility for education, friendships and even in the school’s academic performance, the National Achievement Test.
Schools joining the Search for Best brigada Eskwela Implementer are bold about their school’s improvements. According to Rafael Elementary school, Brigada Eskwela strengthens partnership and builds harmonious relationship between school and the School Governing Council, PTA officers, and members, Brgy. Officials, City and Provincial Officials private sector and other stakeholders in the community. This idea is further affirmed by the statement “Brigada is proof that an effective partnership between the government and citizens is possible”( Carreon, 2015).
Brigada Eskwela becomes a venue for advocating and communicating
organizational/civil mandates like that of the Philippine Army who joined Brigada Eskwela as one way of communicating the Army’s Transformation Roadmap (ATR).
a 150% tax free incentives as provided for by Republic Act 8525. While DepEd Order 24, s. 2016 provides guidelines on accepting donations and on processing applications for the availment of tax incentives by private donor-partners supporting the K to 12 program.
Whereas the main objective according to Sec. Bro. Armin Luistro is that Brigada Eskwela aims to make the school ready for the teachers and students; engage participation of community stakeholders in education; and revive the bayanihan spirit among Filipino youth.
On its own, Brigada Eskwela has generated over P10 billion in savings in man-hour services and donations in kind and had 100% participation of over 45,000 schools nationwide in addition to its mother volunteering and school adoption program called Adopt-a-School. Brigada
Eskwela also offers a more direct means of intervention through volunteerism and a mechanism for quick, efficient, and effective information dissemination of information to share best practices, (Sibayan, 2012).
Public schools have benefited in terms of their Community Maintenance and
Operating Expenses (MOOE). In 2003: 12,000 public schools (30% of all schools) saved P392 million of community MOOE. In 2004: 16,000 schools (38% of all schools) saved P717.1 million community MOOE. In 2005: 26,000 schools (62% of all schools) saved over P1 Billion community MOOE (Alla, 2015).
The brigade has saved the government the amount of P153.16 million in donations, services, and volunteer hours and in 2008, it saved the government about P2.9 billion (Alla, 2015).
DepEd reports that in 2007, “Brigada Eskwela hit a record high of 90%
participation among school communities, generating more than P2.5 billion worth of support-in-kind and volunteer man hours. It has proven to continue to gain more
mileage among communities, corporations, small-medium enterprises, government and non-government organizations and private individuals. While, over 8 million people have volunteered in the National Schools Maintenance Week since 2010 to 2015 (Alla, 2015).
As per recent report of the Division of Negros Occidental by the Resource
Mobilization Coordinator and In-Charge of Brigada Eskwela of the Division, during the DEDP Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop, the total resources generated in 2016 Brigada Eskwela when converted to cash is Php 16,909,900.91; while the total Adopt-a-School Program generated resources is 126,950,422.55.
By volunteering people can develop a sense of generativity that they can be of service to society in a way that goes on the far side of their work. Volunteering can also prevent people in a stressful occupations from burning out and help them maintain a healthy perspective on all the areas in their lives (Retrieved from http://lyceumbooks. com/pdf/SW_w_Volunteers_Chapter_03.pdf).
Learning are always part of the benefits that the program gives to participants. Like Vernon Go, a young Cebu professional who regularly participates in Brigada Eskwela, blogged about his learning, “Friendship was the bond created between the volunteers and students. Perhaps, this event can become a memory shared by us for life. I have seen many photos of Brigada Eskwela events with participants wielding native brooms (walis na tingting). A very fitting symbol, I would say, of the collective strength of the public and private sectors when bound by a unity of purpose” (Bunye, 2015).
Brigada Eskwela was borne out of the need to address the challenges of public school education in the Philippines. It started with the simple mission of cleaning up and beautifying public schools to prepare for the opening of classes. But by allowing
everyone to contribute, big or small, to this worthy endeavor, it has also opened multiple doors for learning and reflection (Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/ ispeak/94749-what-we-can-learn-brigada-eskwela).
Every summer for 12 years now, Brigada Eskwela has been transforming public schools into a venue where people from the community get the chance to be directly involve in an endeavor with the government (Carreon, 2015).
The annual implementation of Brigada Eskwela has brought a new outlook towards social responsibility. One of the public school students who grew up in the culture of Brigada Eskwela is Russell de Guzman, a student leader at Makati High School. Since he was in elementary, he has been taking part in this activity. “When I was in elementary, I would do it because it was a requirement for
officers, and I had nothing to do during the summer vacation,” he shared. “But as I kept on doing it every year, I realized it was also my responsibility to help”, (Carreon, 2015).“More and more people from different sectors of the society extend help to our school every year,” he affirmed. He shared that Brigada Eskwela made him realized that while the government has a duty to its citizens, the citizens also have a duty to the government. “The government cannot do everything for us. We have to do what we can to help each others, too”, (Carreon, 2015). The whole experience influenced De Guzman as a student leader. He shared that despite the exhausting door-to-door solicitation that he and fellow leaders had to do, they never questioned the value of what they were doing. Despite collecting only a considerable amount of donations each day, they always chose to spend their own money for lunch or snacks. As they went
through the process, they allowed it to mold them into young leaders with integrity. "It was a very tiring experience, but its fruits are fulfilling," he
said (Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/ispeak/94749-what-we-can -learn-brigada-eskwela).
Brigada Eskwela helps improved volunteers’ perspectives. “Brigada
to serve when we are called for. With the opportunity it provides us – to be a part of the solution to the challenges of the education system in the country – we realize how we see ourselves and our duty to the community and the country in general. It allows us to understand that, if we are willing, we can become a part of the change we want to see” (Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/ispeak/94749-what-we-can-learn-brigada-eskwela).
The positive changes that it creates – both on the physical appearance of the schools and the outlook of the people that take part in it – are sources of great pride for the DepEd family. The Brigada is proof that an effective partnership between the government and citizens is possible (Retrieved from
http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/ispeak/94749-what-we-can-learn-brigada-eskwela).
Brigada Eskwela was found to have benefits on the academic performance of the students. A research on perception of stakeholders on Brigada Eskwela showed “the steady increase of participants of Brigada Eskwela volunteers was glaring evidence and significantly affected the rate of enrolment and the mean percentage score of the National Achievement Test. The NAT-MPS score was somehow a laudable achievement since this success was very rare for a big school category”(Retrieved from http://
rimmon-educationinthephilippines.blogspot.com/2015/08/perception-of-
Stakeholders-to-brigada.html).
From the outside, Brigada Eskwela might only count as one of DepEd’s mandates for public schools, a project that generates funds to beautify the campus. But scratching the surface will reveal an effective model of public-private partnership that creates ripples of impact among the different sectors of society by revolutionizing the Filipino trait of bayanihan.
It shows that volunteerism is still abundant in our country, and that there are a lot of people who are willing to cooperate with the government’s worthwhile endeavors if given the chance.
Brigada Eskwela Implementation in Schools and Best Practices
There are various ways in which stakeholders, both private and government help schools in our country and in other countries around the world that hold similar activities to support education.
As cited in Alla (2015), in US, local and state taxes are being utilized to fund public school. Federal government and some large corporations donate funds for the school for repairs, drop-out prevention programs, study grants, teacher capability building
programs, educational research and other programs. Parents-Teachers Associations are also directly helping out schools. Associations buy equipment, books, do minor repairs and clean-up activities, sponsor health programs, support scholarship and training for teachers and formulate guidelines for teenage group in the community. They take part in innovating for instructional materials and school furniture as well. They also engage in parenting sessions. America’s Safe School Week is equivalent to Brigada Eskwela in the Philippines. It was sponsored by the US National School Safety Center, state governors and state school superintendents and supported by local, state and national public officials and professional organizations (Retrieved from www.school safety.us/safe-schools-week).
In Metro manila, one of their most desired volunteers are from the military group. Philippine Army participates in the DepEd’s National School Maintenance Week. “Armed with carpentry tool and painting tools, 400 soldiers from the Civil Military operations Group (CMOG), Army Support Command (ASCOM), Headquarters and Headquarters Support Group (HHSG) and Army Reserved Command were deployed to 18 schools in Taguig City, Makati City, Pasig City, Muntinlupa City, Paay City, Pateros
and Tondo to help teachers and parent in doing maintenance, repair and clean-up activities. This their way of communicating to the children that they were responsive, reliable, capable, and committed to its mandate of serving and securing the people (Retrieved from http://www.army.mil.ph/pr/2015/may/180515.html).
A community repainted the fences of a public school in Tacloban City. Minor repairs were done before the opening of classes. Maintenance works such as the repainting of the roof and exterior walls, repair of leaking water pipes, ceiling boards, broken furniture and windows, cleaning of toilets, and gardening were done by volunteers with the help of donations in kind from non-government organizations and corporations. As early as February, school heads recruit
volunteers who would participate in the brigade, by March, they would approach local businesses for donations, then organize work groups by April (Retrieved from http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.
php/Brigada_Eskwela).
A success story of Brigada Eskwela is reported by the principal of San Rafael Elementary School in 2015. They were able to involve various stakeholders like Brgy. Officials, Parent-Teachers Association (PTA), Ilagan Association of Women (ILAW), Sangguniang Kabataan, Supreme Pupil Government Organization(SPGO) parents and pupils. They had 884 volunteers, generated Php 84,895 worth of materials and cash donations and labor cost amounting to Php75,937.50 (Retrieved from ph.shop.88db. com/sanrafaeles/brigadaeskwela).
In their pre-implementation stage, they organized steering committee who chaired every working committee like advocacy and marketing committee, resource mobilization committee and program implementation committee. The committees were able to
perform their functions as oriented. Prior to Brigada Eskwela week, their school head met with working committees to assess the readiness of the school, finalized activities for the opening and closing, matched expected volunteers, materials and resources against
identified needs and organized working teams according to the nature of services to be dome and appointed team leaders (Retrieved from http://ph.shop.88db.com/
sanrafaeles/brigadaeskwela).
Activities undertaken for the whole week were enumerated as follows, parade, opening program, cleaning of classrooms, cutting of grasses, masonry works in
principal’s office, sweeping of dried leaves, tree and vegetable planting, construction of storage room, painting of interior walls of all classrooms, construction of covered foot walk, painting of windows, tables, chairs, construction of Science/Math garden, and pruning of plants (Retrieved from http://ph.shop.88db.com/sanrafaeles/brigadaeskwela).
On day six, they conducted final inspection and closing program. It was noted that all working teams performed their roles and tasks, all activities were recorded, and well documented, necessary materials were available, inventory of work accomplishment was done everyday, stakeholders were acknowledged of their accomplishments and foods were offered to the volunteers. Daily debriefing sessions were conducted to know what went right and what went wrong, what works were accomplished, and what activities were to be continued the following day (Retrieved from http://ph.shop.88db.com/ sanrafaeles/brigadaeskwela).
Hongkong International Christian School (ICS) students volunteered in Brigada Eskwela in their “Week without walls” program to learn to become good citizens of the world so that they went in some parts of Hongkong and even around the world to learn good things about helping others, Alla (2015). Montes (2013) cited in Alla (2015) Brian Van Tassel, ICS High School principal and his eleven Hongkong volunteers also
extended their assistance at the Living Lights Academy in Barangay Boman Gueset where they repaired and painted damaged chairs.
Vernon Go, a young Cebu professional who regularly participated in Brigada Eskwela, blogged about his experience at a public high school in Mandaue. They woke up real early on a Saturday to join Brigada Eskwela to help clean and beautify the school. They moved some furniture, clean computers, did some hardware testing, cleaned the room’s ceiling fans and windows, repainted the arm chairs as well as the stairway rails, saw brave souls who took on the task of cleaning the school restrooms, swapped stories and gave encouraging words to student volunteers. With everyone’s help, they finished earlier than expected. They imparted life lessons on education and environmental awareness. To show their appreciation, they shared their food, and gave away school supplies to the 30 student volunteers” ( Bunye, 2015).
PTA and students clubs in schools were also joining volunteer works as the best option for students to become involved in schools.
In the Municipality of Murcia, Alla (2015) conducted a study on Brigada Eskwela program implementation of 2014. Her findings showed that there was a great extent of Brigada Eskwela Implementation in District II elementary schools which suggests that the program was highly implemented also.
One of the best practices to sustain Brigada Eskwela is the Search for Best Brigada Eskwela Implementer every year. In 2014 for instance, to honor the school-awardees, the DepEd, through the office of the undersecretary for partnerships and external linkages and adopt a school program secretariat, announced a total of 95 schools nationwide as the 2014 Best implementing schools of Brigada Eskwela during the awarding ceremony on Nov 26 2014 at Meralco Theatre, Ortigas Ave, Pasig City. The department congratulated the 22 Best Implementing Schools elevated to the Hall of Fame Category for consistently and successfully implementing the Brigada Eskwela for several years (Retrieved from http://depedteacher.blogspot.com/2015/01/2014-best-implementing-school-of.html).
Challenges Faced by Brigada Eskwela Implementers
A lot of challenges are also faced by schools and stakeholders in the implementation of the program. These includes risk of students, both physical, intellectual and in health and existence of negative attitudes of the community members.
Doing minor repairs in schools placed students at risk. Paint which uses lead content are hazardous to the health of the students. In most cases, students come to school
without any PPE. According to the Henry So, President of the PAPM in the news published by Gloria Ramos of the Cebu daily Inquirer, the lead dust that may be created as a result of renovation activities can cause serious health problems for the Brigada Eskwela participants, with the children at highest rick of exposure. Aileen Lucero, coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition, warned parents and teachers that “ children may ingest the lead paint chip or dust through normal hand-to-mouth activities as they move, eat and play around the classroom, hallway or school ground”. “ Ingesting or breathing in lead dust has a potential of permanently damaging a child’s developing brain and
nervous system, causing learning disabilities and decreased intelligence as measured by IQs score” she siad, stressing that health authorities have identified “no safe blood lead levels for children” (Retrieved from http://cebudailynews.inquirer,net/30179/lead safe-brigada-eskwela).
Furthermore stated, childhood lead exposure is estimated to contribute at about 600,000 new cases of children with intellectual disabilities every year, according to the World Health Organization, which has listed lead as one of the “ten chemicals of major public health concern” (Retrieved from http://cebudailynews.inquirer,net/30179/lead safe-brigada-eskwela). This news had not been known by all teachers and parents in school.
The existence of negative attitudes in the community is one of the challenges faced by school’s every year. “Critics of the program often say that local governments should be the one to fund the maintenance of public schools, and schools should not have to generate resources from private companies or individuals” (Carreon, 2015). In fact, during their solicitations around the community, De Guzman’s group received mixed reactions. Some questioned the need to raise funds for a project that should be funded by the government, while others willingly donated money or materials upon learning of Brigada Eskwela's purpose (Carreon, 2015). “Not many realize their role as partners of the government in creating positive change in society. More often than not, we are quick to point out the diseases of our country, yet we only wait for the government to act on them. We either fail to recognize the opportunities we have to contribute to the cure of these diseases, or we turn a blind eye on them because taking part involves change that may inconvenience us” (Carreon, 2015).
De Guzman shared that even some of his schoolmates do not fully understand the program, and complain that they only go to school to study, not to make repairs or clean the campus. “If they will take part in the activity, they will realize a lot of things that will change their outlook” (Carreon, 2015).
Issues on Maintenance of School Facilities
A study was conducted in South Africa analyzing facilities maintenance which is considered as a school governance function. Findings show that “schools generally do not have organizational structures for planned facilities maintenance, nor do they have policies on facilities maintenance” and the maintenance of school facilities was done merely as needs arise and mostly on cleaning the school campus. There is no such thing as preventive maintenance. “Therefore, there is a need for interim facilities maintenance committees and, in the long term, a whole-school approach to facilities maintenance that makes facilities maintenance a strategic lever for school functionality” (Xaba, 2012).The analysis of data collected revealed a number of important factors and challenges
regarding facilities maintenance practices at schools. Firstly, the general appearance of school environments indicated that maintenance work is carried out, albeit ad hoc and unplanned. The average extent of participants' experience as facilities maintenance coordinators indicates that whatever approaches schools used for the maintenance of facilities, is a result of trial and error and experiential knowledge (Xaba, 2012).
Secondly, it implies a narrow understanding of facilities maintenance in schools having a plan of action involving concerns related to facilities design and maintenance programmes, capability enhancements workforce, and deployment of tools and
"manpower" to perform maintenance work and provide a clean and safe environment, as well as creating a physical setting that is appropriate for learning. (Tsang, 1998:88; Szuba & Young, 2003:2 as cited in Xaba, 2012).Thirdly, it is evident that without policy
directives informing school facilities management and maintenance, schools would have systematic processes aimed at ensuring that school facilities maintenance promoted educational programmes. Clearly participants' attempts at facilities maintenance without a policy framework are constrained by numerous challenges, including: a) Creating an organizational structure for facilities maintenance programmes being curtailed by poor resourcing. For instance, there are no qualified and properly trained facilities
maintenance people b)Staffing of general workers at schools being based on the staff provisioning norms, which are also based on the enrollment of schools. For example, a secondary school with science laboratories would require more maintenance staff than a primary school offering the mainstream curriculum. This results in one school
prioritizing more security guards instead of maintenance workers c)Funding for
maintenance being less than adequate regardless of the nature of facilities at schools and the concomitant maintenance requirements (Xaba, 2012). Fourthly, it was evident that participants generally did not have knowledge of school facilities maintenance. This clearly implies that facilities maintenance at schools, and possibly at departmental level, is not accorded a priority status (Xaba, 2012). Fifthly, there is absence of sense of direction among schools on how to systematize maintenance of school facilities because
of no policies concerning for such. Hence in schools' development and improvement planning processes, facilities maintenance was not considered a component. It is not regarded as an aspect of strategic planning in terms of being facilitative of school performance effectiveness. Finally, it was also evident that stakeholder involvement in planning for facility usage, management and maintenance is lacking. The fact that the administrative clerk heads facilities maintenance at one school attests to this. In essence, this implies that school governing bodies do not have facilities maintenance
sub-committees and, consequently, do not engage in strategic facilities maintenance planning where all school stakeholders would be involved. It must, however, be stated that there was evidence of some form of school facilities maintenance, with each school on an ad hoc basis, attempting to maintain its facilities in its own way. The main weakness is the fact that these attempts were not formal, planned, and organizationally structured practices (Xaba, 2012).
There is therefore a need for, firstly, school facilities maintenance to be placed at the core of school programmes and since schools already compile school development plans, facilities maintenance should be regarded as one of the major strategic levers in the development planning processes. This will ensure that it is planned and budgeted for, and included in implementation plans of school development processes. Secondly, in the short term, interim school facilities maintenance committees should be established so as to have some functional organizational structure for facilities maintenance, which will assist in determining systems for ensuring planned preventive, routine and corrective maintenance. Where workers and gardeners are also responsible for small-scale repairs of equipment and service systems, they should be provided with training in basic skills in such functions (Xaba, 2012).
A study on the perception of stakeholders was conducted in Kidapawan City National High School. Findings of the study includes: a)disclosure of the
optimistic response of the respondents towards the implementation of Brigada Eskwela Program b) Parents perceived Brigada Eskwela as requirement for
