Province of Siquijor - UNDP in the Philippines

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5. Project Reach - this aims to reach all
children of elementary and secondary
school.
On the part of the provincial government,
the first phase of OSFUA was implemented
to give the school children additional income
while attending school. The expansion
of the beneficiaries to include parents
in the barangays was for the intention of
having additional family income plus more
food on the table.
Increasing the incomes of parents so that
they are able to afford sending their school
aged children to school is always considered
a very important program thrust of
government. It is the overarching policy
framework and it cuts across all sectoral
reforms.
The Provincial LGU also implements a
Special Program for the Employment of
Students (SPES) wherein all school children
aged 15-25 years old who belong
to indigent families are attending school
and are willing to enroll in the next school
year can be employed during summer
for 20 days per student so that they will
have money for enrollment. Furthermore,
another program implemented was the
Province of Siquijor
Special Education (SpEd) for Impaired
School-aged children.
C. CHALLENGES
The challenge would be financial on the
part of the teacher implementing these advocacies
because advocacy efforts really
require funding. In terms of policy formulation,
the Sanggunian, as records indicate,
has little knowledge on education policy
formulation.
Entrepreneurial skills among parents of
school children may have to be developed
in order that they will have finances to ensure
that the children are provided with
their school needs. The Local School Board
may have to conduct a capability program
among its local policymakers.
There is also a need to improve the quality
of education so that the schools may produce
what the industries need. This refers
to the “job-matching” aspect. Improvement
of school facilities and provision of simple
school amenities and school supplies to
indigent school children is also necessary.
Increase of teachers’ salaries may also be
advocated.
Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data