DepEd, SM Supermalls mull partnership on K-12 students’ immersion

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte met with officials of SM Supermalls to discuss the possibility of the retail chain giant offering an immersion program and employment for graduates of the country’s K to 12 program

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte (center) tackles the possible partnership of the Department of Education (DepEd) and SM Supermalls on the immersion of K to 12 students. (Photo from Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook)

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Jan. 17, the Vice President shared photos of her recent meeting with SM Supermalls executives, headed by Hannah Sy, at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in Mandaluyong City and expressed gratitude for the company’s plan to support K-12 graduates.

“Napag-usapan din namin ang posibling partnership ng Department of Education sa SM Supermalls upang ang mga mag-aaral ng K-12 ay pwedeng magkaroon ng ‘immersion’ at ang pagkakataong mag-empleyo sa kanilang mga establisyemento (We also talked about the possible partnership of the Department of Education with SM Supermalls for K-12 students to have an immersion and the opportunity to be employees of their establishments),” Duterte, who is also the country’s Education chief, wrote.

“Masaya ako na ibinalita nila na sila ay tumatanggap ng mga empleyado na gradweyt ng K-12. Inanyayahan rin natin sila na makilahok sa ginagawang review ng curriculum ng K-12 (I am happy to receive the news that they are not accepting K-12 graduates as employees. We also invited them to join the ongoing review of the K-12 curriculum).”

According to the Vice President, the retail giant shared with her its plan to hold a “Super Spelling Bee” with participants from both public and private schools.

“Ito ay naglalayon na sa gitna ng digital age maibalik ang interes ng mga kabataan sa tamang pagbaybay at ito ay mahalaga sa maayos na pakikipagkomunikasyon (This aims to revive the interest of the youth in spelling amid the digital age since this is vital to proper communication),” she said.

The official expressed gratitude to SM Supermalls officials for their continuous support for Filipino students.

She also assured them that her office is ready to work with them to improve the quality of education in the country.