Cotabato City, Philippines — The Community and Family Services International (CFSI) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.), through the Bangsamoro Camps Transformation Project, Phase 2 (BCTP/2), strengthened their partnership with the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) Schools Division of Maguindanao del Sur to improve access to education for Out-of-School Youth (OSY) in conflict-affected communities.
The coordination meeting, led by Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Alma M. Abdula-Nor, brought together the Division Alternative Learning System (ALS) Focal Person, the Division Nurse, and the BCTP/2 Project Team to discuss strategies for expanding education services across 17 barangays covered by the project, particularly through ALS.
Among the key agreements, the Schools Division Office committed to facilitate the enrollment of Out-of-School Youth identified through BCTP/2 community profiling into ALS, and to convene a coordination meeting with MBHTE ALS Teachers to plan services for these communities.This reflects MBHTE’s current policy of deploying registed ALS Teachers in place of Instructional Managers,anchoring the initiative directly into the agency’s standard teacher deployment and helping ensure that camp communities continue to be served through formal government education tracks. The Superintendent also committed to leading a coordination meeting on 20 July 2026 with the local government units of Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Ampatuan, and Guindulungan to expand ALS services to underserved areas. The School Division likewise committed to coordinate with the Regional Office on linking BCTP/2 farming beneficiaries as suppliers for the Homegrown School Feeding Program, and agreed to prioritize the repair of school buildings and ALS learning facilities in future coordination meetings with local government units. BCTP/2, for its part, will support community mobilization to encourage learner’s participation.
Dr. Alma M. Abdula-Nor underscored the urgency of the initiative:“For our office, we take action right away. It is our obligation to make sure that every Out-of-School Youth has the opportunity to return to learning.”
The meeting reinforced the importance of close collaboration among MBHTE, local government units, community leaders, and development partners in addressing educational gaps in conflict-affected communities.
CFSI implements the BCTP/2 in partnership with BDA Inc. The project is funded by the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF) administered by the World Bank, with contributions from Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, to improve access to basic social and economic services in six previously acknowledged MILF camps covering 17 barangays across selected from 36 priority barangays identified under the Camps Transformation Investment Plan (CTIP).