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APEX GOES SOUTH

AFTER TWO YEARS OF SMOOTH implementation in the Philippine province of Laguna, Project APEX is set to roll out in six municipalities and two cities in the province of Leyte. In preparation for project implementation, local government and education officials of Leyte visited the facilities of CORD International and the schools in Waco, Texas, where Tech Prep has been implemented. CORD International, a subsidiary of the Center for Occupational Research and Development, developed the Applied Academics/Tech Prep Program.

Project APEX adopts the Applied Academics/Career Prep approach to the teaching of science and mathematics, which is a hands-on learning strategy set in real-world contexts that provides students with a firm academic foundation as well as sound technical knowledge. Career Prep is being used for this project instead of Tech Prep to avoid the stigma associated with technical education.

Methods and materials being used in Project APEX help students learn principles in science and math through objects and events in daily life. Lessons are linked to skills with practical value to the students in the hope of promoting scientific literacy and technical productivity in the areas where the project is being implemented.

An important feature of Project APEX is the role of the local government unit as the main funding entity of the project, something that finds its legal basis in the Philippine Local Government Code. The law devolves to local governments the main responsibility in planning and implementing educational projects in their locality.

In partnership with the Schools Division of Leyte, SEAMEO INNOTECH will plan, manage, supervise, monitor and evaluate capability-building activities that will prepare the eight public high schools of the province to be model schools in Applied Academics/Career Prep. The pilot implementation will run for four years. So far, SEAMEO INNOTECH’s experience with Project APEX has shown what is possible when local governments take a major role in putting a good educational development concept into reality.

The province of Leyte is the hub of heavy industries in the region, with the Leyte Industrial Estate in Isabel, the Regional Industrial Center in Tacloban City and the Provincial Industrial Center in Ormoc. These areas will be complemented in the future with planned special economic zones in two other towns. The local government is trying to strengthen the Visayan State College of Agriculture to be the region’s education and research center.

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