INQskwela goes to Davao del Sur, first LGU partner in Mindanao
DIGOS CITY—Davao del Sur schools division superintendent Lorenzo Mendoza of the Department of Education (DepEd) could still recall how he first heard about INQskwela from his counterpart in Baguio City last year.
“Aside from students gaining access to e-copies of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), there were also interesting activities for learners and pupils. They enjoyed them so much,” said Mendoza, an Inquirer reader since his high school days.
He was referring to the experiences shared by colleague Soraya Faculo, schools division superintendent in Baguio which signed up as an INQskwela partner in June 2023.
“I was thinking back then: when could all these beautiful things also happen for us here in Davao del Sur?” Mendoza told the Inquirer in an interview on Monday.
10th tie-up nationwide
The answer became clear two months ago when word came from the provincial governor’s officer that Inquirer would also like to partner with DepEd in Davao del Sur for INQskwela.
On Dec. 2, Mendoza, Gov. Yvonne Cagas, represented by lawyer Herbert Gonzales, the provincial administrator, and Inquirer officers signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) formalizing the partnership, making the province INQskwela’s first LGU (local government unit) partner in Mindanao and the 10th nationwide.
Under the MOA, 20 schools in the province will be given access to InqPlus, the digital copy of the paper, through the provincial government’s subscription.
DepEd principals and teachers will help implement the program by integrating the Inquirer news reports, features and commentary in their classroom discussions, especially in social studies.
Campus journ component
“This is aligned with our vision to empower communities,” said Gonzales. “Information is empowering. This is a welcome opportunity for the province because access to information enables our people to have empowered, informed decisions.”
Mendoza also found the agreement to be timely in view of Davao del Sur’s achievements in a recent national campus journalism competition, where it placed third overall, an improvement from their fifth-place ranking last year.
Aside from the digital subscription to the paper, among the components of the INQskwela program is the conduct of journalism workshops for campus writers and their teachers in the partner schools.
“With this agreement, we hope to strengthen further the hold of Davao del Sur in campus journalism,” the DepEd official said.
Forming news habit
Roy Raul Mendiola, PDI national sales manager, thanked Cagas, the provincial government and DepEd for their invaluable support for the project.
“INQskwela hopes to instill in students the habit of keeping abreast with the latest news, which will improve not only their critical thinking skills but also their communication skills,” Mendiola added. “In a time where disinformation has become widespread on social media, it is vital to guide young minds toward trustworthy sources of information.”
Also present at the MOA signing was corporate affairs officer Bianca Kasilag-Macahilig, representing Inquirer assistant vice president for corporate affairs Connie Kalagayan.
