All 18 alumni of the recently concluded Teachers’ Capability-Building on Organic Agriculture (TEACH-OA) passed the National Certification (NC) II Assessment for Organic Agriculture Production (OAP) of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

This first batch of teacher-participants who took the certification exam on July 20 and 21, 2024 were from selected schools in Nagcarlan and Sta Cruz, Laguna.

They completed TEACH-OA under the DepEd-UPLB Nurturing Opportunities for the Next Generation towards Ending Learning Poverty in the Philippines (DUNONG) Program.

NC II certification validates an individual’s skills and knowledge in a particular occupational area or trade. This certification is awarded to individuals who have completed a training program and passed the competency assessment conducted by TESDA-accredited assessment centers.

Through initiatives like TEACH-OA, the DepEd-UPLB collaborative program aims to make a significant impact in education and organic agriculture. 

Meanwhile, the second roll-out of the TEACH-OA training workshop kicked off on July 22, 2024, with Dr. Rodmyr F. Datoon, director of the Agricultural Systems Institute (ASI), formally welcoming 25 teachers representing six elementary schools and five integrated national and senior high schools under the Department of Education-Schools Division Office of Laguna (DepEd Laguna). 

DepEd-Laguna head, Rodel J. Guevarra, principal III of the Los Baños Central Elementary School, delivered an inspirational message highlighting the need to shift the mindset of young people who perceive those engaged in agriculture as failures or low-performing students. 

He said that integrating agriculture into the basic education program would give students first-hand opportunities to engage in agriculture.  

He cited school gardening as an activity that promotes discipline, creativity, and environmental protection. 

Guevarra expressed his gratitude to UPLB for choosing DepEd Los Banos and Bay sub-offices as beneficiaries of the DUNONG program.   

The five-day training workshop, which will run until July 26, 2024, at the ASI Lecture Hall, is facilitated by Dr. Leila D. Landicho, university researcher and Career Scientist 1, and Christine Joy B. Manalo, a university researcher at the Division of Agricultural Systems Studies of ASI, CAFS, UPLB, who provided administrative and technical support to the training program.