Article Readings # 7: DSWD, DEPED: NO CHILD WILL BE LEFT BEHIND

Official Gazette PH

DSWD, DepEd: No child will be left behind

Published: April 18, 2013. Latest update: April 18, 2013.

An April 18, 2013 press release from the Department of Education

Every child in the Philippines will now have the chance to be schooled.

This is the vision of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Education (DepEd) as they launch KaritonKlasrum with the theme “Katropa, Edukasyon at KalusuganMo’ySagotko! SakaynasaKaritonngPagbabago!”

More than 200 children will be attending the said event to celebrate the start of the drive and to witness the symbolic signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between DSWD and DepEd.

As an alternative delivery mode of education, KaritonKlasrum aims to reach street families and out-of-school children who are beneficiaries of the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT), an offshoot of the PantawidPamilyang Pilipino Program, a human development program of the national government.

“This is one big push for the street children, one more push for their bright future,” Sec. Corazon Juliano-Soliman of DSWD said.

Through combined efforts, DSWD and DepEd hope to reach and educate every child in the country through traditional and alternative learning systems so that “no child will be left behind.”

“If we work together, there is no excuse for not reaching our goals,” Sec. Br. Armin A. Luistro of DepEd said.

The project initially targets more than 3,000 identified street children in Metro Manila. KaritonKlasrum is made possible through a partnership with the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC), represented by CNN Hero EfrenPeñaflorida, and other Civil Society Organizations.

DTC also hopes to lead, train, and develop the youth to enable them to become good, productive, and responsible citizens. They hope to accomplish these by providing youth awareness projects, talent enhancement programs, self-development activities, and community services. Their objective is to introduce the concept of youth importance, self-understanding, and teen moral value.

The PantawidPamilya is also a social protection strategy that invests in the health and education of poor children age 0-14 years old. It is widely known as the Philippine conditional cash transfer program. As of April 3, 2013, the program has 3,841,992 household beneficiaries, and operates in 1,627 cities and municipalities in 79 provinces in 17 regions nationwide.

deped.gov.ph

 REACTIONS:

Education for all was created long time ago but still long time had passed yet this goal was never attained. Several attempts were established to answer the needs of the Filipino children through education, but it did not succeed. Few leaders had already served the country and tried to solve the problem of education. Population is too large to meet the needs of the Filipinos. Finally, when the Aquino administration stepped on the Philippine governance, the nation slowly feel the progress. Each Department act on their responsible area including the Department of Education. Now, because the problem covers a vast scope, DSWD extends their help to DepEd.

The collaboration of DepEd and DSWD to eliminate illiteracy in the Philippines is such a great teamwork. They just need cooperation of the Filipino citizens to realize the goal of education for all. Hopefully, these plans willbe achieved so there will be no child that will be left behind.