INNOTECH PARTNERS WITH THE BRAINS BEHIND “KARITON KLASRUM”

The Center formalized its partnership with the non-government organization founded and headed by 2009 CNN Hero Mr. Efren Peñaflorida, the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC), through a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 06 May 2013. SEAMEO INNOTECH Center Director Dr. Ramon Bacani signed for SEAMEO INNOTECH while Mr. Peñaflorida signed for DTC.

The MOU will facilitate cooperation and collaboration between the two organizations, primarily in the development of a specialized curriculum for street children that will transform the “Kariton Klasrum” into an alternative delivery mode of education (ADM) program. The pushcart classroom initiative of DTC was recently recognized by the Philippine Department of Education and the Department of Social Welfare and Development as a viable alternative mode of providing street children and their families with access to education, healthcare and nutrition.

Other aspects of the partnership include the conduct of joint research, capacity building and project missions; joint implementation of seminars and workshops; and sharing of relevant information, studies, and best practices on the various specialized areas of education and learning.

The MOU signing was witnessed by DTC’s Education Unit head, Mr. Randie Salonga, and SEAMEO INNOTECH’s manager for Educational Research and Innovation Office (ERIO), Mr. Philip Purnell. Also present during the signing were Cavite City’s Education Program Supervisor Dr. Arlene Carpio, and unit heads of ERIO—Dr. Ethel Valenzuela (Research Studies Unit), Mrs. Yolanda Delas Alas (Solutions Evaluation and Adaptation Unit), and Mrs. Debbie Lacuesta (Solutions Development Unit).

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