Region 13

Caraga Region
The history of Caraga can be traced back to
the 15th century when explorers discovered
the existence of “Kalagans,” believed to be of
Visayan origin, in one of the three districts in
Mindanao. The word Caraga originated from
the Visayan word kalagan. Kalag means soul
or people and an means land. The “Kalagans,”
called “Caragans” by the Spaniards, occupied
the district composed of the two provinces of
Surigao, northern part of Davao Oriental, and
eastern Misamis Oriental. The two Agusan
provinces were later organized under the
administrative jurisdiction of Surigao and
became the independent Agusan province in
1914. In 1960, Surigao was divided as Norte
and Sur, and in June 1967, Agusan followed
suit. While Butuan then was just a town of
Agusan, the logging boom in 1950s drew
businesses to the area. On August 2, 1950, by
virtue of Republic Act 523, the City Charter
of Butuan was approved.

Region 13, the Caraga Administrative Region or the Caraga Region was created
through Republic Act Number 7901 as approved by President Fidel V. Ramos on
February 25, 1995. The region is composed of four provinces: Agusan del Norte,
Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur; and three cities: Butuan,
Surigao, and Bislig; seventy (70) municipalities and 1,346 barangays (http://
caraga.neda.gov.ph/Caraga_Region/Caraga_Region.htm. October 17, 2003).

Location and Size. Caraga Region, situated in the northeast section of Mindanao,
is located between 8000’ and 10030’ latitude and 125015’ to 126030’ longitude. It is
bounded on the north by the Bohol Sea; on the south by the provinces of Davao,
Compostela Valley, and Davao Oriental of Region 11; on the west by Bukidnon

466 Caraga Region

and Misamis Oriental of Region 10; and on the east by the Philippine Sea and the
Pacific Ocean. The region has a total land area of 1,884,697 hectares. This represents
6.3 percent of the country’s total land area and 18.5 percent of Mindanao’s. Of the
region’s total land area, 47.60% belongs to Agusan del Sur.

Topography. The region is characterized by mountainous areas, and flat and roll-
ing lands. Mountain ranges divide Agusan and Surigao provinces and subranges
separate most of the lowlands along the Pacific Coast. The most productive agri-
cultural area of the region lies along the Agusan River Basin. The famous Agusan
Marsh also sits in the middle of Agusan del Sur. Among the lakes in the region, Lake
Mainit is the widest. It traverses eight (8) municipalities: Alegria, Tubod, Mainit,
and Sison in the province of Surigao del Norte and Tubay, Santiago, Jabonga, and
Kitcharao in Agusan del Norte.

Land Classification and Major Land Uses. Of the total land area, 71.22% is forestland
and 28.78% is alienable and disposable land. Major land uses include forestland
comprising 31.36% and 23.98% of agricultural and open spaces.

Population. Based on the final results of the 2000 census, the total population
of the region was 2,095,367 which was 7.86% higher than the 1995 population of
1,942,687. The annual population growth rate over the last five years was pegged
at a manageable 1.63%, one of the lowest in the country. Among the four provinces,
Agusan del Sur registered the largest population at 559,294 and Surigao del Norte
the smallest at 481,416. In terms of growth rate, Surigao del Norte was the fastest
growing province with an annual average growth rate of 1.84% over the last five
years, while Surigao del Sur was the slowest at 1.35% over the same period.

Butuan and Surigao cities have a total population of 267,279 and 118,534, respec-
tively. Butuan City registered an annual growth rate of 1.70% in the last five years,
while Surigao City posted 2.65%.

Poverty. Poverty incidence in the region continues to upsurge from 51.20% in 1997
to 60.10% in 1998. Both numbers are way above the national average of 31.8% in
1997. On the other hand, the region-wide average annual family income based on the
1994 and 1997 Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES) years posted 36.17%
increase from Php52,508.25 in 1994 to Php71,498.50 in 1997. In 1997, the increase
in average annual family income outpaced the increase in average annual family
expenditures of Php61,540.25, thereby translating to an average annual savings of
Php9,958.25 per family.

Caraga Region 467

Economy. The region has an agriculture-based economy with rice, corn, coconut,
bananas, mango, and root crops as major products. Other crops that are propagated
in the region also include palm trees with more than 10,000 hectares, rubber, abaca,
coffee, pineapple, and papaya. The region is also noted for its wood and wood-based
products which are utilized primarily for housing and other industrial uses.

Climate. Caraga Region has Type II kind of climate, with no pronounced wet
and dry season. It has been observed that during the months of November to
February, occurrence of heavy rains is usually experienced in the region. (http:
//www.medco.gov.ph/medcoweb/regprofl.asp?RegAreaID=R13. October 14,
2003).

The sociogeographical feature of the region, which owes to the increasing number
of population and poverty incidence, shows that teacher education is necessary in
the area. There is a demand to increase the number of public schools or govern-
ment-subsidized schools. Moreover, for the Teacher Education to help accelerate
the development of their predominantly agricultural the area, their training should
be responsive or acculturated to their local and national situation. Thus, this study
is an attempt to assess who are training our teachers.

Institutional Profile

A quarter of the sixteen sampled higher education institutions (HEIs) are govern-
ment-funded schools, all of which are state colleges. The remaining twelve privately
owned institutions are equally divided into sectarian and nonsectarian schools.
Refer to Table 1a.

The number of teacher educators from the four state colleges comprise 45.56% of
the total number of teacher respondents (169). Forty-four teachers (26.04%) are
from private sectarian schools while the remaining 48 educators (28.40%) are from
private nonsectarian institutions. See Table 1b.

Of the sixteen institutions, three have not more than 20 teaching personnel, while
the other three have 21−40 teaching staff. Ten deans comprising 62.50% of the total
number of respondents did not give the information about the number of teachers
they have in their respective schools. As to how many nonteaching personnel they
have, a quarter of the total number of deans said that they have 20 or less. Only
one respondent said that their school has 21−40 nonteaching staff. Refer to Tables
20a and 20b.

468 Caraga Region

 SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

Personal Profile

Respondents in educational institutions in CARAGA show that most of them

(72.19%) were born in the island of Mindanao, 17.16% are from the Visayas while
7.10% are from Luzon. See Table 2. The modal age range of the respondents is 31–40
(26.63%), followed by a considerable number of respondents within the age range
of 51–60 (23.08%), and 21–30 (22.49%). Predominant of these teacher respondents
are female (72.78%). From the total respondents, 69.23% are married while 26.04%
are single. Refer to Tables 2 to 5.

Table 6 shows that among the respondents, 55.03% of the spouses are employed
while only 8.88% are unemployed and 7.69% said that their spouses have retired
from services.

Nearly 40.00% of the respondents own a house while close to that are those who
do not own their abodes (36.69%). About 23.67% have no response. Also, most or
78.7% of the respondents do not have cars See Tables 7 and 8.

Educational Qualifications

Trained personnel in teacher education in CARAGA are graduates of BSE/BSEd

(43.79%), BS (15.98%), BEEd/BSEEd (14.20%), and AB (12.43%). A considerable
percentage (13.1%) of the mentor-respondents graduated at St. Paul University
System-San Nicolas Campus. Others graduated from MSU (6.5%), University of
San Carlos (5.3%), Agusan College (5.3%), Northern Mindanao College (4.7%), and
Andres Soriano College (4.7%). These data are all classified under “Others” (84.02%).
Only 4.73% of the respondents graduated from the institutions listed in the instru-
ment. The remaining 11.24% did not disclose information about the institution
where thy graduated from. Refer to Tables 9 and 10.

The top five major areas of specialization of these teacher respondents are English,
Mathematics, Filipino, Biology, General Science, and History for both major and
minor subjects. The modal year of teacher respondents’ graduation from college
is from 1986–1990 (14.20%), followed by 1991–1995 (13.61%), and from 1996–2000
(11.83%). These data show a relatively young generation of mentors in teacher
education in the CARAGA Region. See Table 11.

Caraga Region 469

Data in Table 12 show that 52.66% of the teacher respondents earned a master’s
degree while 33.73% have units leading to master’s degree. Those with doctoral
degrees comprise 14.79% of the sample population while 11.83% have PhD units.
The top ten (based on the number of responses) areas of specialization of the teacher
respondents for both MA and PhD are Educational Management, Education, Math,
English, Administration and Supervision, Educational Planning and Management,
Biology, Filipino, Educational Administration, Home Economics, and Guidance and
Counseling. According to Table 13, few of these respondents (29.56%) were able
to avail of scholarships. Majority of the respondents (70.41%) did not answer this
particular query. The list of scholarship grants and the corresponding percentages
of recipients among the teacher respondents can be found in Table 13.

According to the data in Table 14, the teacher respondents passed examinations
or earned eligibility through ten consecutive years of government service. The
eligibility/board examinations for teachers and the corresponding passers among
the respondents are PBET (33.73%), Teacher’s Board (32.54%), and LET (21.89%).
Full details about the eligibility of the sample teacher educators in Caraga Region
can be found in Table 14.

It can be seen in Table 15 that the focus of most seminars in the local, national, re-
gional, and international levels is the major subject/area of specialization. However,
in the in-house level, as evidenced by the attendance of the teacher respondents in
seminars, more attention is given on research. Except in the in-house level where
management and administration got the lowest ranking, information and commu-
nications technology unchangingly gets the lowest percentage of attendance.

The modal number of years of teaching experience in the tertiary level among the
teacher respondents is within the range of ten years or less (50.30%). It is also the
modal range of those who are teaching in the graduate level (6.51%). This is con-
sistent with the data in Table 17, which show that most of the respondents have
only been in their present institutions for ten years or less (37.28%). Refer to Tables
16a, 16b, and 17.

The nonteaching assignments that most of the teacher respondents handle or hold
are the positions of Dean (5.33%), Guidance Counselor (1.18%), Department Head/
Chair (1.18%), and Principal (0.59%). They have been in these positions for ten years
or less (8.88%). Please see Tables 18 and 19.

470 Caraga Region

 Employment Status

The modal salary range teacher respondents are receiving is between 10,001 and
20,000 pesos (44.38%), followed by those who are receiving below Php10,000. Only
a negligible number of respondents receive 20,001 to 30,000 pesos a month. A con-
siderable percentage of the respondents (28.99%) did not disclose information about
their monthly salary. See Table 21.

Most or 68.05% of these teacher respondents have permanent status while 17.8% are
only contractual teachers. The number of teaching load of tertiary teacher respon-
dents is within the range of 22–24 (13.02%). However, there are also respondents
with teaching loads within the range of 19–21 (11.83%,) and 16–18 (10.06%). Refer
to Tables 22 and 23.

According to Table 24, the only welfare benefit that majority of the teacher respon-
dents receive is the 13th month pay (75.74%). All the other benefits are received
by less than half of the sample population. These benefits and the corresponding
percentages of recipients among the teacher respondents are: clothing allowance
(44.97%), sick leave credits (34.91%), health insurance (34.91%), productivity pay
(33.14%), maternity/paternity benefits (30.18%), COLA (28.99%), retirement benefits
(25.44%), and vacation leave credits (21.30%). An even fewer number of respondents
enjoy representation/transportation allowance (9.47%), 14th month pay (5.92%), ALA
(2.37%), and hazard pay (0.59%).

With the experience, benefits, and actual workload of the mentor respondents,
74.56% prefer to stay in their present position. See Table 25.

Working Condition

Majority of the teacher respondents in Caraga Region claimed that the schools where
they are presently connected with provide classrooms that have electricity (68.05%),
have toilet outside (63.31%), are well lighted (56.21%), and have electric fans and
are made of concrete materials (53.85%). Less than half of the teacher respondents
described their classrooms as made of semipermanent materials and with ceiling,
without telephones, and with running water. Refer to Table 26.

Most of the classrooms from the sample educational institutions are provided with
the basic facilities. As indicated in Table 27, the six most common facilities are: chalk
and erasers (87.57%), teacher’s chair (85.80%), teacher’s table (79.88%), students’

Caraga Region 471

desks/chairs (77.51%), teacher’s desk (71.01%), and black/white boards (68.05%).
Refer to Table 27.

The school facilities that are available to the sample educational institutions based on
the corresponding percentages of teacher educators are: library (97.63%), computer
laboratory (93.49%), science laboratory (86.98%), canteen (84.62%), clinic (82.84%),
conference rooms (74.56%), gymnasium (60.36%), and audiovisual room (51.48%).
Faculty lounge, educational technology room, auditorium, and simulation room
are available to fewer institutions according to the teacher educators. Please see
Table 28.

Three quarters of the dean respondents said that their institutions have electrical
power supply that can support the entire institution for 24 hours. Communication
facilities are also available in the sample educational institutions. These facili-
ties and the corresponding percentages of institutions that have them: cell phone
(62.50%), fax machine (50.00%), landline (31.3%), public payphone (31.25%), and
cable television (25.00%). Please see Tables 29 and 30.

According to the data in Tables 31 and 32, majority of the institutions provide
their faculty and students with computer with printer and photocopier. The other
equipment/facilities available to fewer schools are mimeograph machine, over-
head and multimedia projector; computer peripherals; photo and video camera;
Betamax, VHS, VCD/DVD, and radio-cassette players; Internet access, and digital
photocopier.

ICT Capabilities

Table 33 attests to the computer literacy of at least half of the total number of teacher
respondents who are using word processing. The other computer applications that
some of the teacher respondents are using are Internet browsing (28.40%), graphics
and artwork (11.83%), spreadsheet (8.88%), statistical package (6.51%), and desktop
publishing (4.14%). A negligible number of teacher respondents also use computers
for programming, accounting and payroll, database, authoring, and web design.

These computers are available in the institution where they teach (50.30%), in their
homes (20.12%), in commercial places (18.93%), and in their offices (18.34%). Al-
most all or 97.63% of the teacher respondents claimed that they use computer in
teaching. According to them, the ways by which they use computers are surfing
the Internet for reference (21.3%), asking students to surf the internet for relevant
materials for their assignments (18.3%), PowerPoint presentations (16.0%), for test-

472 Caraga Region

ing (13.6%), for delivering computer-based/ computer-aided instructions (11.2%),
and for recording (8.9%). Refer to Tables 34, 35, and 36.

Since many of the teacher respondents are computer literate, 68.75% confirmed the
inclusion of computer in teaching. Three quarters of the deans said that computer
courses are offered as a separate subject and basic requirement. However, as shown
in Table 39, only one out of the 16 deans plans to include computer courses in the
teacher education program. As to how it will be included, two options arose as a
separate subject and basic requirement or as a special program. Please see Tables 37
to 40.

CONCLUSION

This short evaluation of the status of mentors in the field of teacher education shows
that the Department/College of Education of the sample universities and colleges
in Caraga Region have a powerhouse of middle-aged and mostly married mentors.
Although majority claimed that they own their houses, still, many are living with
their parents.

Although most of the teacher respondents are within the lower middle to middle
level bracket of socioeconomic status, more than half of them were able to get
master’s and doctoral degrees with some, however, finishing their degrees through
local scholarships. Most of those who have graduate degrees received their graduate
education in the nearby HEIs and those in the Visayas region. The popular programs
for graduate education, however, are Educational Management, Mathematics, and
Language.

It is worthy to note at this point that more than half of the mentors involved in
teacher education courses passed the eligibility examinations and many of them
are new in the teaching profession.

The trainings and seminars most attended by the teacher educators are in-house.
They also show a considerable interest in research and updating in the areas or sub-
jects of specialization. However, although there is an institutional interest in training
these mentors towards research, only a few are doing actual research. Moreover,
there are more mentors who are involved in developing instructional materials.

Since many of the respondents are middle-aged, almost all of the respondents are
computer literate. These younger-generation of mentors are using the most com-
Caraga Region 473
mon or basic software available in the market like word processing and Internet
browsing. Their knowledge in computers is also applied in the classroom.

Using computers in the classrooms is not a problem among the sample educational
institutions since the classroom has electricity, is made of concrete material, and
has the basic facilities or amenities necessary for a classroom. In fact, a considerable
number of respondents said that their classrooms have electronic fixtures. Since
most of the mentors are computer literate, they also prefer to develop students who
are knowledgeable in computer applications.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Given the profile of teacher educators in the Caraga Region, the following are
recommended:

1. The constant increase in population and poverty incidence shows a demand to

increase the number of public schools or government-subsidized schools.

2. For the teacher education to help accelerate the development of their predomi-
nantly agricultural area, teacher education training should be responsive or
acculturated to the local, national, and global needs. This could be done through
opening a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses aside from specializa-
tion on language, math, management, and supervision.

3. To encourage more teacher educators to specialize through graduate education,

there is a need for the region to source scholarship funds or create affordable
graduate education financing scheme.

4. The opening of other courses of specialization would encourage more males to

participate in teacher education.

5. While local conferences are focused on research, study shows that there are few
teachers who are involved in research. Thus, there is a need for teacher educa-
tors to do and get involved with research to produce instructional materials
that are responsive to the local situation.

474 Caraga Region