VZCZCXRO7095
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #0424/01 0310911
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 310911Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8915
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0672
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF EDUCATION WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000424 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, DRL/CRA, INR/EAP, EAP/PD, 
S/CT 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID ANE/TS - L. SAULS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER SOCI KISL RP
SUBJECT:  MADRASAH PROJECT:  AFTER COMPLETING U.S. TRAINING, 
EDUCATORS SLATED TO BEGIN LOCAL PROJECTS 
 
REF: A. 05 MANILA 0106 
     ¶B. 04 MANILA 5479 
     ¶C. 04 STATE 193469 
 
¶1.  (U) This Message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (U) Summary:  Twenty-eight madrasah educators from 
Mindanao have completed training courses in the U.S. on 
American educational practices and values, as part of a USD 
400,000 USG-sponsored "Madrasah Teacher Training Project." 
The next phase of the two-year project -- in which 
participants will share what they learned via tailored local 
projects -- is slated to begin in February.  The project is 
designed to assist in bringing the Philippines' Islamic 
educational system into the mainstream.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Muslim Educators Complete U.S. Training 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Twenty-eight educators from madaris (Islamic 
schools) in Mindanao recently completed three-week study 
tours in the U.S. as part of a DRL-sponsored "Madrasah 
Teacher Training Project."  Two tranches of educators 
visited the U.S. during the September-December 2005 
timeframe in order to attend presentations by university 
professors and other experts.  Participants also visited 
schools, religious organizations, and the Department of 
State and other USG offices.  The goal of the visits was to 
introduce the educators to American educational practices 
and values (see further background on the project contained 
in para six below). 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Dr. Sam Molao, a Dean at Cotabato city's 
University of Southern Mindanao (one of the largest 
universities in Mindanao), accompanied the first tranche of 
educators to the U.S. in September.  He told poloff on 
January 27 that the trip went "perfectly" and that the 
visiting educators had received a very friendly welcome 
wherever they went.  Undersecretary for Education Manaros 
Boransing, who accompanied the second tranche, told poloff 
that the visit was the first exposure to American 
educational institutions for the educators, most of whom 
were trained in the Middle East.  He echoed Dr. Molao's view 
that the trip had been a great success. 
 
---------- 
Next Phase 
---------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Having returned to the Philippines, program 
participants are set to begin the next phase of the project, 
which will involve using what they have learned in their own 
schools and within their wider communities.  Support for 
these local projects is provided in the form of "mini- 
grants" in the amount of USD 2,000 each.  Mission recently 
reviewed the local grant proposals in coordination with the 
project's contractor, the Institute for Training and 
Development (ITD), a U.S.-based NGO.  Planned activities 
include workshops for Mindanao-based educators on teaching 
strategies and methods; on school management; and on ways to 
promote community participation in education.  Some of the 
funds are also going toward purchasing much-needed 
educational materials.  The mini-grants are scheduled to be 
implemented between February-June 2006. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶6.  (U) DRL approved the Philippine madrasah project in 
September 2004 under the ESF/Human Rights and Democracy Fund 
(HRDF) with a grant of USD 400,000 (ref B).  The madrasah 
project aims to strengthen and mainstream the education 
system in Muslim communities in Mindanao.  In June 2005, the 
Institute for Training and Development (ITD) together with 
its partner, the University of Southern Mindanao, conducted 
orientation and interviews with madrasah teachers from the 
provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Lanao del Sur 
 
MANILA 00000424  002 OF 002 
 
 
(all of which have large Muslim populations) in order to 
select 28 participants for the program.  The project is 
scheduled to wrap up with a national "Educator Networking" 
conference in late 2006. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The "Madrasah Teacher Training Project" 
complements several other USG-funded projects that help 
train school administrators and teachers from selected 
public schools and private madaris in Mindanao.  The USG, 
among its other programs in the educational field, is 
working to improve the English language proficiency of both 
teachers and public elementary students, and to provide 
alternative education to out of school youths in Mindanao. 
These programs all support the Philippine Department of 
Education's long-term goal of bringing madaris into the 
educational mainstream -- and thus marginalize radical 
elements -- by training teachers for accreditation by the 
national Board of Education (see ref B). 
 
JONES