The City of Balanga is in the process of becoming a university town as part of the learning city project. By replicating some of the structural features of renowned university towns around the world, Balanga aims to create an environment that encourages learning not just among university students, but also among citizens of all ages. The city’s ultimate objective is to become a centre of knowledge and innovation with a highly educated, highly skilled workforce and citizens who play an active role in the governance of the city.
In addition, becoming a learning city will enable Balanga to empower its citizens to be more responsible and self-reliant and to actively participate in the governance of the city.
Introduction
General overview
The City of Balanga is the capital of the province of Bataan. It is surrounded by industrial zones such as the Freeport Area of Bataan, Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Clark Special Economic Zone. However, industrial development in Balanga itself is constrained by the city’s small size and population. Thus while neighbouring cities rely on heavy industry, the City of Balanga aims to become a centre of knowledge and to supply the region – and eventually the country and the world – with the kind of world-class talents that create thriving organizations and industries.
Balanga will therefore focus on education as a means of spurring local economic development. The city already serves as the province’s centre of education and has many institutions of learning. These include eighteen public and thirteen private primary schools; two public and five private secondary schools; and one state university and eight private colleges.
Main issues to be tackled
Balanga faces a number of major development issues. The first of these is the very limited financial resources available: the city has an annual budget of just 12 million US dollars to support all its operations, programmes and projects, and local financial institutions are not able to support the city’s development projects due to high interest rates.
The second issue is the centralization of primary, secondary and higher education at national government level through the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education. This centralization means that local government units are not able to independently plan, budget and implement education programmes.
Motives for becoming a learning city
The city has decided to capitalize on its status as the centre of education in the province in order to spur development and economic growth. Having an educated workforce will attract business, thus boosting job opportunities. This will help lower poverty, which in turn will reduce crime. In addition, becoming a learning city will enable Balanga to empower its citizens to be more responsible and self-reliant and to actively participate in the governance of the city.
Learning city policies and strategies
Definition of a learning city
The City of Balanga’s understanding of a learning city involves becoming a university town in which the positive learning environment found in schools and university campuses is replicated across the entire city. To achieve this aim, excellent facilities and spaces in which learning can take place have been created throughout the city, such as a new library, an IT laboratory, open spaces and pocket parks.
Vision and objectives
The city’s vision is encapsulated in the slogan ‘Balanga University Town 2020: the emerging hub for knowledge-based businesses in the Philippines’. Balanga’s overall objective is to build a familyoriented city with a strong learning atmosphere that will ensure sustainable development and participatory governance. This can be broken down into four more specific goals.
The first is to provide access to highquality education. The City of Balanga aims to be recognized as a regional centre for education, excelling in both formal and informal settings and providing learning opportunities for all through a massive scholarship programme.
The second goal is to provide excellent student facilities and amenities. The city government is implementing a university town master plan that involves developing various learning facilities through a publicprivate partnership (PPP) model.
The third is to create an environment that is conducive to learning. Measures such as pedestrianized streets, free Wi-Fi zones and the promotion of cultural activities and a healthy lifestyle provide citizens with an ideal learning atmosphere.
The fourth goal is to ensure job opportunities through linkages between academia and industry. School-based career guidance and career orientation programmes are regularly undertaken by the city and provincial employment offices. Industries and businesses also provide dual training programmes to help students prepare for employment.
Legislative framework
At the national level, the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001 (Republic Act No. 9155) declares that all citizens have a right to basic education. It guarantees the right of all Filipino children to free education at elementary and high school level. This act also states that ‘alternative learning systems’ encompassing both nonformal and informal sources of knowledge and skills should be available to out-ofschool young people and adults.
Also at the national level, Executive Order No. 874 (2010), amending Executive Order No. 483 (2005), approved the establishment of the Southeast Asian Centre for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development (SEA-CLLSD), an inter-agency coordinating body for lifelong learning for sustainable development.
At the city level, Executive Order No. 25, Series of 2008, entitled ‘Creating the University Town Committee in the City of Balanga’, aims to implement the university town by creating an accountable, efficient and dynamic organizational structure and operating mechanism that promotes quality education and meets the learning needs and service requirements of citizens.
Governance and partnership
Several governmental institutions are involved in planning, implementing and evaluating learning city policies at national and city levels. The Department of Education (DepEd) supervises all Philippine primary and secondary education institutions and alternative learning systems, both public and private. The DepEd and the city government address all school concerns in Balanga through the Local School Board (LSB), which is chaired by the city mayor.
Balanga’s overall objective is to build a family-oriented city with a strong learning atmosphere that will ensure sustainable development and participatory governance.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) monitors and evaluates the performance of higher education programmes. It also provides funding to Balanga’s college scholarship programme.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) manages and funds technical education and skills development in the Philippines.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is involved in learning initiatives such as occupational training and the Educhild parenting training programme, which was pioneered by DSWD day-care workers and is described in more detail below.
On-the-job training for students in summer is provided by the Department of Labour and Employment through its Special Programme for the Employment of Students (SPES). The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is Balanga’s primary partner in implementing its Learning Barangay Week, an initiative which is discussed in more detail below.
Moving on to non-governmental organizations involved in the learning city, Ugnayang Balangueno is a multi-sectoral governance coalition of the City of Balanga. It is an alliance of stakeholders from both the public and private sectors that was formed to support the city government’s vision of becoming a university town by the year 2020.
The University Town of the Peninsula Foundation, Inc. (UTown Pen) was launched by key leaders and top business people in Balanga in 2011. Its goal is to establish an endowment fund of 10 million US dollars within five years. This fund is used to finance various education programmes in the city, including college scholarships. The foundation currently sponsors the higher education of nineteen first-year and ten second-year students of engineering, accountancy and education.
The University Town Education Council was formed in 2011. Its objective is to promote education for all. It focuses on the planning, monitoring and evaluation of school roadmaps for accreditation.
Implementation
Provision of lifelong learning
Balanga is currently developing an infrastructure that replicates the characteristics of certain renowned university towns around the world. The aim is to improve educational facilities and create an environment throughout the city that encourages creativity, innovation and learning. Construction projects include the Plaza Mayor, a 1,4440-m2 plaza that serves as a centre for cultural activities; a city library and other reading spaces across the city; and covered facilities that can be used by local organizations for learning events. As part of the process of creating a university town, schools have also allowed their facilities to be used by the wider community as venues for free seminars and workshops, which are conducted by volunteer educators.
Iskolar ng Bataan is a scholarship programme offering world-class higher education to people who would otherwise not be able to afford to study. The city and provincial governments and the Commission on Higher Education contribute a total of 2 million US dollars to this programme each year. More than 25,000 scholars have graduated since the programme started in 2004.
The Educhild Parenting Programme involves a ten-module parenting course held in day-care centres, primary schools and secondary schools across the city. The programme is based on the philosophy that children who are motivated to learn are closely supported by their parents. The programme aims to ensure that fathers and mothers are empowered, aware of their responsibilities and better able to face the modern challenges of bringing up children. The course covers topics such as child development, family values, marriage, spirituality, sexuality, family finances and relationships. To date, 5,281 parents have completed this course.
Project Duke is a public-private partnership that was formed to develop interventions for out-of-school youth in Balanga. The programme includes ten modules on having the proper mindset, developing effective learning tools and skills, and identifying job opportunities. The objective is to help out-of-school young people make strategic life choices that make them less likely to become involved in community problems such as crime and drug addiction.
School-based career guidance is regularly undertaken by the city and the provincial employment service. An online jobs database has been setup to enable jobseekers and employers to instantly upload and access job-related information. The Bataan Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports businesses offering students dual and on-the-job training.
Example of innovation or good practice
Learning Barangay Week
The City of Balanga has achieved great progress in delivering services and programmes that promote learning and the general well-being of its citizens. This progress can be attributed to the close, strategic coordination between the relevant sectors in the city. To further promote this coordination and sustain this progress, the city government launched the Barangay Week in 2007, which is a collaborative effort between the city government and the barangay (district) leaders. After the 1st International Conference on Learning Cities in Beijing, the week was renamed ‘Learning Barangay Week’ in order to emphasize Balanga’s transformation into a learning city.
Objectives
One of the primary objectives of the Learning Barangay Week is to promote a more harmonious working relationship between barangay officials and residents through learning initiatives such as employment and technology training for small businesses; skills training that addresses the needs of specific groups (e.g. older people, women, youth groups, farmers and fishermen); tutorials and mentoring sessions for students; and information sessions on the city’s healthy lifestyle programme.
Main target groups
There is a wide range of target groups, including students, teachers and other people employed in the education sector; parents; entrepreneurs and local enterprises; investors; local government personnel and employees of national government agencies; civil servants; out-of-school youth and other youth organizations; non-governmental organizations; health professionals; and people aged 60 and above.
Main activities
In addition to many fun family activities, the Learning Barangay Week offers several health education events, including information sessions on healthy lifestyles, blood sugar monitoring, dental services, fitness classes and anti-smoking films.
The Learning Barangay Week gives citizens opportunities to keep up to date with community issues by meeting barangay officials and participating in community consultation processes. The week also provides training on aspects of barangay governance such as the barangay
governance performance management system. The Katarungang Pambarangay (barangay justice) seminar provided by the public attorney’s office offers training on peace and order in the city.
Mobilization and utilization of resources
Public-private partnerships (PPP) have enabled the City Government of Balanga to implement several projects that are part of the university town master plan. The redevelopment of the Plaza Mayor, for example, was realized through investments made by the private sector that support the city’s vision. Upcoming projects such as the People’s Centre Sports Complex will also be funded through PPP agreements.
Monitoring and evaluation
The Performance Governance System (PGS) is a participatory process in line with the principles and best practices of good governance and responsible citizenship. It calls for effective, sustained and systematic contributions from individuals and institutions. This system uses a balanced scorecard in weighing the performance of local government units against their strategic road map. Currently, the City of Balanga is at the ‘proficiency’ or third stage of its PGS journey and is seeking to enter the final stage (‘institutionalization’) in 2015. This system is critical to achieving the city’s vision of becoming a centre of lifelong learning.
Impacts and challenges
Impacts
One major impact of the Iskolar ng Bataan scholarship programme is the significant increase in the number of college graduates in Balanga. Every year, 12,000 students benefit from the college scholarship programme. This has enhanced the quality of the city’s workforce, which in turn has increased investor and consumer confidence. This is reflected in a 43 per cent increase in gross sales of businesses in Balanga between 2010 and 2013. In addition to the increase in college graduates, 500 teachers have availed themselves of the scholarship grant to pursue postgraduate degrees, while 5,000 parents have graduated from the Educhild Parenting Programme. More generally, projects completed as part of the university town master plan have greatly improved the learning infrastructure in Balanga and helped promote learning for all citizens. This helped Balanga secure the 2014 Most Outstanding Local Government Unit for Literacy prize, which was awarded by the National Literacy Coordinating Council.
Challenges
The most urgent challenge facing the city is a lack of resources such as funding, expertise and technology. Furthermore, the city requires more detailed information on the best practices of other learning cities around the world. It also needs to develop more precise methods of measuring the impact of learning city initiatives.
Lessons learned and recommendations
It takes time to implement learning city programmes since these need to be understood and appreciated by citizens before positive results can be achieved. Clearly identifying and articulating benefits helps to encourage citizens to pursue their lifelong learning goals.
Contact
Name
Rodolfo H. De Mesa
Official title
Departmental Head of City Education and Excellence Development Office
Website
www.cityofbalanga.gov.ph
References
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