One of the most admirable things about public schools is their pursuit of sustainability. To provide a better learning experience to students on a long-term basis, the staff would go the extra mile, devise plans, and perform duties that are way beyond their job description.
The best reflection of this is the improved Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP). This program encouraged schools to allot a particular area within their vicinities where parents, students, teachers, and staff can grow nutrition-rich plants. In addition, larger schools were able to build ponds to start a small fishery, and rural schools got to increase the lot area to grow crops and raise hens as livestock.
Initially, when the Department of Education launched the GPP in 2007 under the DepEd Memorandum No. 293, s. 2007, it was meant to promote school agriculture to produce crops for the benefit of the students locally. Then, the Department of Education issued the DepEd Memorandum No. 223, Series of 2016, which mandated the solidification of the GPP in all elementary and secondary public schools nationwide. This memorandum augmented the program’s goals and expanded it to be agriculturally, financially, and academically beneficial to all the stakeholders of the schools. A year after, the GPP was included among the several programs under RA 11037. It became a complementary project to the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) by providing a sustainable source of vegetables, fruits, and even livestock to combat malnourishment, especially for primary learners.
In line with the effects mentioned above, GPP generally lessens the expenses of schools in many aspects, which enables the administration to save and transfer funds on other school improvements. For instance, school-based feeding programs already have a stable source of crops. Thus, the funds can be stretched to feed even more students or increase the volume of the meals provided to them. Also, excess produce can be sold to partner communities and other non-government agencies, generating even more income, which can help sustain the GPP itself and other school projects. Moreover, the gardens can be a simulation ground for both students, especially those taking up TLE subjects, and parents to learn basic agricultural processes that they can apply in their own households. GPP also provides seminars presided by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Science and Technology on schools about the most efficient farming techniques, which is basically a free top-tier tutorial that can be applied to community gardens as well.
Therefore, GPP is essential in combating malnutrition and building a more sustainable school and community. Especially nowadays, since COVID-19 caused a dramatic inflation rate, particularly on essential goods, having an alternative source of raw materials to sustain the SBFP despite the distance-learning set-up could help save and earn funds for the school. In fact, schools can even intensify the process of growing crops since the school grounds are almost vacant because of face-to-face restrictions by increasing the lot area to increase the number of products.
Gulayan sa Paaralan Program is a stepping stone to making public schools more sustainable. Sustainability will be a crucial factor to endure the post-pandemic era; to intensify it would mean strengthening the schools.
REFERENCES:
- https://deped-olongapo.com/department-of-agricultures-continuing-support-to-depeds-gulayan-sa-paaralan-program/
- https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/DM_s2016_223.pdf
- https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2018/ra_11037_2018.html
- https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/sunstar-baguio/20190925/281616717090589
By: Renz Oliver N. Alfanta
