NO YOUTH LEFT BEHIND

CIELITO D. PEÑA

The Department of Education, adhering to their motto that no youth would be left behind, had launched various programs that inspired the youth who dropped out of school to go back and enroll in senior high school.

Ever since the launching of the Senior High School in 2016, the DepEd recorded the attendance of all Balik- Aral Learners or those who returned to school .

According to the DepEd, the number of out of school youth has decreased for the past two years.

The decrease in the number of the out of school youth, the DepEd said, was centered on those aged around 16 to 24 years old. Among the around 3.8 million individuals who dropped out of school in 2016, they were able to decrease it by 3.6 million in 2017 through the effectiveness of DepEd’s programs.

The number of drop outs who re-entered senior high school increased from 158,131 students in the school year (SY) 2015- 2016 in to 301,744 in academic year 2017- 2018.

The DepEd claimed that it was the Senior High School Program that is responsible for the improvement of the profile of school participation in the country.

In relation to this, the Philippine Statistic Authority or PSA released their Annual Poverty Indicator Survey – and their numbers agreed with that of the DepEd.

PSA’s annual poverty indicator survey showed a huge decrease in the number of out-of-school youth. Approximately 352,000 out-of-school youth ages 16 to 24 enrolled in senior high school. They further explained that these results proved that among the 3.32 million drop-outs recorded in 2016, more or less 350,000 returned in school by the year 2017.

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The author is Head Teacher III at Sta. Rita Elementary School, San Luis District, Pampanga