New Checkmyschoool coordinators met their more experienced counterparts in a consultation and updating sessions held in Cagayan de Oro City on February 8-11, 2016.
The CMS secretariat, led by ANSA-EAP Executive Director Redempto Parafina, led the four-day meeting with 24 area coordinators who talked about the coordination with local Education officials, expansion of covered areas, changes in the secretariat and plans for the coming project cycle, among others.
“The consultation was also a move to make CMS more inclusive and participative,” said James Nigel Panganiban, a member of the secretariat and a project associate of ANSA-EAP.
“From what we saw, the participants were happy to have this opportunity to clarify their roles,” he added. The consultation session was one of the first activities of CMS this year as it signed partnerships with nine civil society organizations across 12 areas across the country..
It is also working on pledges to monitor 1,124 public schools by the current volunteers.
For this cycle, CMS will focus on localization and strengthening of local partnerships. They are encouraged to take the initiative and form partnerships with their own local government and DepEd offices.
The existing agreements are with CSOs based in Rizal, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon City, Aklan, Bacolod City, Guimaras, Misamis Oriental, Surigao Del Norte, Bacolod, Zamboanga del Sur, North Cotabato, Cotabato and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
CMS is a project of ANSA-EAP that seeks to promote transparency, accountability and participation in the delivery of basic services in public schools. It facilitates responses to concrete school issues through the collective efforts of government, community, civil society, and the private sector.