The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been supporting the improvement of basic education in Mindanao since the mid-1990s through the ongoing Secondary Education Development and Improvement Project, and studies and other activities to prepare for the proposed Mindanao Basic Education Development Project.1 The Government of the Philippines
places high priority on the development of Mindanao, and recently launched the Mindanao National Initiative that aims to foster equity, stability, and uplifting of the Mindanao people.
Mindanao is one of ADB’s priority geographic areas in the Philippines, given its high poverty incidence and low levels of social development. The poorest part of Mindanao is the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
To prepare a solid foundation for improving the ARMM ucation system, the Government has requested advisory technical assistance (TA) from ADB to help the ARMM Department of Education (DepEd-ARMM) prepare a comprehensive plan for basic education development to respond to the specific educational needs of children.
