Epistemology of Regional Education


What is the Epistemology of Education in Bangsamoro?

The Bangsamoro government recognizes the pre-colonial epistemology of education in the Bangsamoro built on the indigenous learning system and later evolved into a formal system of education:

(a) Education Among Bangsamoro. - Among Bangsamoros, this commenced from the ‘lihal’ or ‘kitab’ system, also called ‘halaqah’ or circle of learners around a pandita or guru (religious teacher) or residential type called ‘toril’; and with the pioneer Bangsamoro ulama.

(b) Education Among Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples. - Among non-Bangsamoro indigenous peoples, learning and education are borne out of their oral and customary traditions, passed on by the community through their elders.

(c) Secular and Spiritual Education Divide. - The arrival of colonial powers brought with them their Westernized version of secular and formal education system, and imposed a secular-spiritual wedge and marginalized the indigenous systems altogether branding them as backward and primitive;

(d) Majority-Minority Relations. - The contemporary education system in the BARMM and its preponderance for national identity, narratives and standards meant that the identities, narratives and standards of cultural minorities took a backseat and often ended up as symbolic and stereotypical;

(d) Addressing the Education Divide. - Thus, the purpose of education in the Bangsamoro shall be, on one hand, to narrow the wedge between these divides and on the other, to pursue a more inclusive, holistic, global, integrated and balanced system of education.