The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) partnered with the Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA) on Friday to help the Philippine Schools Overseas (PSO) elevate the quality of education for Filipino learners.
During the ceremonial signing of the partnership between CFO and PEPA, Secretary Dante “Klink” Ang II said, “Our Philippine Schools Overseas are already performing well, as shown by their students’ strong results in various aptitude tests and entrance exams, but there’s always room to raise the bar even higher.”
“Also, we want to ensure that every Filipino student abroad has more access to resources because they deserve nothing less,” he added.
Currently, there are 34 PSOs that serve around 25,000 students globally, and they have an organization, the Association of Philippine Schools Overseas (APSO), whose president was also present at the signing ceremony. The CFO emphasized that six more schools are in the pipeline for inclusion, opening even more avenues for PEPA to provide culturally grounded educational materials.
Jose Paolo Sibal, PEPA president, said, “We have to reach out also to Philippine Schools Overseas as they’re still part of the Philippine education system. With this signing, we can reach out to the Philippine schools, and some of the schools who are not so active, because Secretary Klink has so many plans now.”
Sibal added that PEPA plans to extend their local activities and campaigns overseas to provide PSOs access to more diverse educational opportunities.
“We want to give them the benefits of our products, workshops, and seminars that each of our companies give to schools locally. We can extend these to Philippine Schools Overseas so they can enjoy the same benefits and the same freedom of choice with regards to the products and services from the different publishers,” he said.
The CFO, along with the Department of Education, supports PSOs by providing policy and program assistance and serves as the secretariat of the Inter-Agency Committee on Philippine schools. Through this role, the CFO helps formulate and implement policies and guidelines for the establishment, operation, management, accreditation, and regulation of Philippine schools overseas.
The CFO, an agency under the Office of the President, is mandated to strengthen the political, economic, and cultural ties between the Philippines and its global diaspora. Through its programs, the CFO promotes cultural appreciation, protects the welfare of overseas Filipinos, and creates pathways for them to contribute meaningfully to national development.
The partnership not only strengthens classroom learning abroad, but also fortifies the cultural bridge between the Philippines and its global diaspora—a mission aligned with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Bagong Pilipinas vision of nation-building beyond borders.
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