A PATH TOWARDS INCLUSIVE AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

SDG 4 – QUALITY EDUCATION

As an educational institution, De La Salle University prioritizes providing accessible and quality education to students of all backgrounds. Every student holds potential and has the right to learn. Factors such as financial status and location severely affect anyone’s ability to learn, especially the youth. The lack of quality education also lessens access to important career skills. This is why the University provides affordable and quality education to stakeholders inside and outside campus through many means. Furthermore, environmental education must be given importance to give way for emerging sustainable ideas.

If students require financial assistance, the Office of Admissions and Scholarships (OAS) offers a wide range of student aid programs fit to their needs. These programs are available for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. Around 20% of the student population benefit from these scholarships in the academic year 2023-2024. Under the Office of Student Leadership, Involvement, Formation, and Empowerment (SLIFE), the Lasallian Scholars Society also provides scholars tuition credits through the TutorialLSS program. This program trains these scholar-tutors under the Br. Andrew Gonzales College of Education (BAGCED), providing other students with additional academic mentorship, and teaching experience to the scholars.

Regular volunteer programs for employees include the Lingkod Lasalyano-Institutional Social Engagement 2023, held at the Tuluyan Center of the University. Guided by the Center for Social Concern and Action (COSCA), employee-volunteers conducted Alternative Learning System (ALS) sessions for out-of-school youth needing to finish their secondary school education. The program then extended to Lian, Batangas, where academic and support staff joined a grassroots forum regarding the situations of public school children of the community. At the DLSU Integrated School (DLSU-IS), the Grade School Division engaged the Grade 4 students of DLSU-IS and Timbao Elementary School in Biñan, Laguna, in environmental and sustainable education modules that involved creative activities like painting and decorating with upcycled materials. 

At the college level, BAGCED offers credit courses on Earth Science (EARTSCI) and Environmental Science (ENVISCI) in the Bachelor of Secondary Education, Major in Science program This enables Secondary Education students to learn and teach environmental education, strengthening their sustainability literacy as future educators.

Another ongoing curricular activity championing quality education is Service-Learning Program implementation for the benefit of orphanages and primary schools in DLSU host communities. These include Mo. Teresa Spinelli Treasures and Little Angels Home, Inc. orphanages; as well as Timbao Elementary, Binubusan Elementary, and Lumaniag Elementary schools. From April to May 2024, over 900 participants (Lasallians and partner community members) in the Grade School levels encouraged collaborative learning in various subject areas. Additionally,  Southville 5A National Highschool in Biñan partnered with the Student Discipline Formation Unit (SDFU) for The Care’s Program. The event benefitted more than 70 Grade 10 students in Southville in fostering a safe and positive learning environment. 

Students and other University stakeholders are also given opportunities to enrich their learning through capacity-building activities and conferences by the many research centers of DLSU. The College of Computer Studies (CCS) regularly holds free programs through the Advanced Research Institute for Informatics, Computing, and Networking (AdRIC). One of their most notable was in partnership with the Philippine Science High School Systems (PSHSS) entitled the PSHSS-DLSU Science Immersion Program. As part of the DLSU Research Congress 2023, 38 PSHSS interns were assigned to and trained by the different AdRIC research labs: Bioinformatics Lab, CAR, CNIS, CeLT, COMET, CIVI, and TE3D House. CCS also co-hosted the 4th International Conference on Advances in Computational Science and Engineering 2023 alongside the Universiti Malaysia Sabah Faculty of Computing and Informatics and co-organized by AdRic and UMS Creative Advanced Machine Intelligence Research Center (CAMIRC), covering emerging ideas on data systems, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning algorithms, and the like. In collaboration with Gateway+ Singapore, 29 senior high school students were selected and sent to universities in Singapore for career immersion and workshopped on soft skills building in August 2024. 

From the programs, De La Salle University effectively provides quality education to its stakeholders and trains students to become future educators. Courses on Earth and Environmental Sciences also encourage graduates to teach children how to care for the planet and promote sustainable practices. Following the Lasallian value of Service, the outreach programs extend education to partner communities and students.

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