Boac, Marinduque – Given the context of a worldwide pandemic during the last quarter in 2019 and the Luzon-wide lockdown in Luzon from March to May this year, 34 teacher-scholars from Oriental Mindoro, Romblon and Marinduque has successfully completed the Graduate Diploma in Cultural Education (GDCE) courses this Summer 2020. The GDCE Batch 2 in Mimaropa was able to waver along the challenges of the lockdown, community quarantine and steady increase of conform cases, still the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Philippine Cultural Education Program led the way in transforming the crisis into an opportunity to conquer and overcome Covid19.

The GDCE Level 1 Batch 2 started last May 11-16 with the CulEd205: Philippine Arts course with Dr. Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Nadera Jr; then May 18-23  with CulEd203: Cultural Diversity and Languages of the Philippines under Dr. Mary Bulaong; after which May 25-30 with CulEd204: Re-view of History and Heritage Laws with Prof. Michael Charleston “Xiao” Chua; and finally last June 1-6 with CulEd200: Pedagogy of Cultural Education  under Dr. Orlando Magno.

The 34 GDCE teacher-scholars were vetted from more than 46 prospected educators in the region last April 17 in coordination with the Department of Education Mimaropa and the Marinduque State College School of Graduate Education and Professional Studies. The qualified teachers were then interviewed and given an orientation last May 8 via zoom online meeting platform.