Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao

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The Project

The Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao, or BEAM project, is a Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) project aiming to improve the quality of and the access to basic education in Southern and Central Mindanao. It is funded by the Government of the Philippines (GoP) and the Government of Australia (GoA) through a AUD$53 million grant from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). GoP's contribution is managed by DepEd's Educational Development Projects Implementation Task Force (EDPITAF) while that of GoA's is through the Australian Managing Contractor, Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM).

In order to realize its objectives, BEAM has many seemingly discreet activities, yet underlying them all is a common philosophy of teaching and learning and a single determination to make a difference that tightly integrates them. A brief description of the components and their programs are given in the link below:

Component 1: Human Resource Development

Strengthening the education sector's human resource is the objective of this component. this is achieved through

General Management Training
Various management trainings and support developed and delivered to DepEd Regional, Divisional and District personnel and school managers utilizing appropriate learning systems.

Component 2: Materials Development

The component provides the BEAM Project with learning materials and resources that complement and support its training and development initiatives.

The Materials Development Centers established in Regions XI, XII and the ARMM are equipped with the latest State-of-the-art technology to service the needs of the Project, DepEd and those national programs supporting the focus of quality and access in basic education.

Component 3: Increasing Access

Referred to as Access, this component identifies and develops programs and initiatives to increase the access to basic education and non-formal education of indigenous peoples, Muslim groups and multi-cultural communities. From building classrooms for students and providing livelihood opportunities and trainings for parents, this component works towards keeping children in school by empowering their families and communities. This component has established a center for Indigenous Peoples (IP) Education and increased support to strengthen the Madaris system and its teachers.

Access programs are classified into three main groups - BEAM-Life, BEAM-Peace and BEAM-Home.

The BEAM Project is effectively managed by a range of personnel from the Department of Education and AusAID's managing contractor, Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM). This group manages the implementation of the project's initiatives, oversees the monitoring of project outputs and evaluation of project outcomes and reports to stakeholders (see M&E Framework). Reports include a quarterly newsletter and evaluation reports.

BEAM Team

Implementing the initiatives and making BEAM achieve its goals are over 130 dynamic staff, mostly from the Department of Education, who are detailed to the project. These personnel are scattered in six BEAM Offices.