PH Consul General Calls for More Filipino Language and Culture Classes in Alberta

Consul General Zaldy B. Patron (left) and Hon. Myles McDougall, MLA for Calgary-Fish Creek, representing Alberta Minister for Education Demetrios Nicolaides, delivering their opening remarks at the Teacher Certification webinar on 24 January 2024. (Calgary PCG photo)

CALGARY 01 February 2024 – The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Calgary and the Alberta Ministry of Education recently held a joint webinar on teacher certification and the Filipino language and culture program in Alberta.

The webinar, held on 24 January 2024, featured presentations by the officials of the Alberta Ministry of Education.

Ms. Amanda Jackman, Director/Associate Registrar, Alberta Education, discussed in depth the teacher certification program in Alberta.

She explained the three types of teaching certificates in the province, namely the interim professional certificate (IPC), letter of authority (LoA), and permanent professional certificate (PPC), that the Filipino internationally educated teachers (IETs) residing in Alberta could apply for.

Ms. Jackman then explained in detail the application process and eligibility criteria for the IETs who would like to work as teachers in the province.

To begin their application process, interested Filipino IETs were advised to create an online account through the Teacher Workforce Information System (TWINS) Teacher Self-Service site at https://extranet.education.alberta.ca/twins.public/public/.

On the other hand, Mr. Douglas Zook, Director, Alberta Education, talked about the Language and Culture Program in Alberta.

Under this program, Filipino 15, 25 and 35 subjects, with five credits each, are taught in certain high schools in Alberta.

He shared that enrolment in these Filipino language and culture subjects had increased from two (2) students in 2007/08 to 626 students in 2022/23.

Mr. Zook advised interested parties to contact and request their local school authorities if they want the Filipino language and culture subjects to be taught in schools in their areas.

“I encourage the Filipino internationally educated teachers in Alberta to consider applying for teacher certification so they could practice their profession in this province,” said Consul General Zaldy B. Patron after the webinar.

Consul General Patron also called on the Filipino community to start lobbying with school officials for the introduction of Filipino 15, 25 and 35 subjects to more schools across the province given the large Filipino population in Alberta.

Hon. Myles McDougall, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Calgary-Fish Creek, who represented Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides at the webinar, said it was an exciting time to explore a teaching career in Alberta.

He cited that the Alberta Government had increased the budget for education by five percent and that Alberta’s school boards hired 2,600 new staff in 2023 to give more support for the classrooms.

Mr. Dan Karas, Executive Director/Registrar, Alberta Education, served as the emcee of the event. He was the Ministry of Education’s focal point who coordinated closely with PCG for the conduct of the webinar.

Those interested to watch the video of the webinar can view it from the PCG’s YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/HaDNdljPmf4?si=Uuem9IJb4FBd6w6v. END

Consul General Zaldy B. Patron (second row, rightmost) and MLA Myles Mcdougall (3rd row, right) with resource persons from the Alberta Ministry of Education. (Calgary PCG photo)

For more information, visit https://www.calgarypcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinCalgary/.