BEST Program 2013-2019

Allan Mesoga, a blind copyreader at the Bureau of Learning Resources (BLR), shares how the BEST Program upgraded their skills in producing materials that would make learning more exciting for visually-impaired learners or those with low vision.

In 2018, BEST helped the BLR produce a total of 272 tactile images for 7 learning areas to be used by visually impaired learners in Grades 1 to 10. BEST donated equipment and software that would help the BLR and all DepEd regions produce more learning materials including a Victor Reader Stream on which audiobooks are played; Victor Embosser; Swell-Form machine that converts illustrations, maps, and charts to tactile images; and a CorelDraw software.

Under the BEST Program, Australian and Philippine Universities came together to establish high-quality research institutes to provide evidence and technical advice to DepEd on priority reforms. Set up in 2013 were the Research Center for Teacher Quality PH (RCTQ), a partnership by the University of New England, AU and the Philippine Normal University; and the Assessment, Curriculum & Technology Research Centre (ACTRC), a partnership between the University of the Philippines and The University of Melbourne.

To date, the two research centers have been instrumental in supporting DepEd develop a number of significant policies in curriculum, assessment and teacher quality, and will continue to do so even after the conclusion of the Program.