MANILA, Philippines — To upgrade teachers’ competence in teaching learners with a hearing impairment, the Department of Education (DepEd) will hold a series of training programs on sign language across the country.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said the training is in line with DepEd’s “thrust to make education truly inclusive of all learners especially those who have difficulty understanding lessons due to hearing impairment.”

Luistro said the training program is organized by DepEd’s Special Education Division and the Bureau of Elementary Education in coordination with LINK Center for the Deaf and in partnership with the Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship.

The training seminar for Luzon will be on May 15 to 24, 2012 at Teachers’ Camp in Baguio City and will be attended by selected public school teachers from Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A (CALABARZON), 4-B (MIMAROPA), 5, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

The seminar for the Visayas will be on April 15 to 24 at DepEd Ecotech Center in Lahug, Cebu City to be participated in by public school teachers from Regions 6, 7 and 8.

The Mindanao leg will be in DepEd RELC in Cagayan de Oro City on April 25 to May 4 where public school teachers from Regions 9, 10, 11, 12 and CARAGA are set to take part.

“We intend to strengthen teachers’ skills in the teaching of sign language in preparation for the inclusion of pupils with hearing impairment in regular school,” Luistro said. “It is our duty as educators to provide equal opportunities to children and youth with special needs so that they can lead productive lives,” he added.

Luistro said the program is composed of sign language training and seminars in Special Education (SPED) as well as formal sign language evaluation in the basic and intermediate levels by the Philippine Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (PRID). It is also meant to provide teachers with competencies in establishing and maintaining SPED programs.

Expected to participate in the second phase of the training are teachers who attended the first phase of the seminar last year. Attending the first phase of the training is a new batch of 15 new teachers per region.