7,000 attend K-12 Mindanao Summit in CDO

• Source: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/07/05/1473374/deped-unveils-priority-programs-next-12-months
• Saturday, July 4, 2015 12:00 am

By Gerry Lee Gorit (The Philippine Star)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Education Secretary Armin Luistro has unveiled the priority programs of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the last 12 months of the Aquino administration, which include a zero out-of-school youth declaration nationwide.

Total eradication of malnourishment among school children, equal number of facilities in all schools and high school students graduating from tech-voc track granted certification from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are the other priorities of the DepEd, Luistro said in his speech at the opening of the Mindanao Education Summit held here Wednesday night.

Luistro said a city in Mindanao would also be the first in the region to be declared as out-of-school-youth free. “We are just collating all the data,” he said.

Batanes was the first province to achieve zero out-of-school youth.

Luistro ordered regional directors to search for out-of-school youth who are willing to enroll under DepEd’s various programs.

“Account for all the street kids, all the kasambahays in your area and encourage them. We have the Kariton Klasrum when we reach out in remote areas. We will also be institutionalizing senior high school exclusively for each indigenous tribe where lessons are suited to their culture,” he said.

The number of out-of-school youth nationwide decreased to 58 percent last year. Enrollment in secondary schools increased by seven percent, which is equivalent to 7.2 million students.

Luistro also bared plans to revise the school calendar to benefit farming communities.

Luistro said he also plans to replicate his program at the Bilibid Prisons in Manila where detainees get sentence commutations for enrolling and teaching in the prison.

“Walang Pilpino na bobo (No Filipino is stupid). We will reach out to you. We will be rolling out IT packages in each school in Mindanao for the next 12 months, whether you are located in the rural or in the urban areas,” he said.