Up to 6M drop out of school

A new study conducted by the Department of Education found that about five to six million Filipinos of school age were out of school.

The study also found out that many of these out-of-school learners were willing to finish high school—but were constrained by various reasons such as family, individual, community and school concerns.

The Education department reported that these findings were two of the reasons why it launched the Open High School Program (OHSP) under the Drop Out Reduction Program (DORP), an alternative-learning scheme to address the growing dropout rate.

The Drop Out Reduction Program was designed to address the problems faced by students that prevent them from completing their elementary and high-school education.

The department had noted that many students could not report to class regularly because of various reasons, among them work, physical handicap and family and health problems.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said that the program actually started in 1998 with only a few secondary schools initially offering it. At present, more and more high schools nationwide offer the program as part of the plan to address the dropout issue.

The Drop Out Reduction Program has three major components—Effective Alternative Secondary Education or EASE, Open High School or Distance Education Program (OHSP) and School Initiated Interventions (SII).

The students have a choice of three modes in continuing their schooling. One mode is the modular system where teachers use learning modules that the student can bring home for self-study. The content of the modules are similar to those in textbooks used by regular students.

The Effective Alternative Secondary Education component is applied to short-term and seasonal students at the risk of dropping out, while the Open High School or Distance Education Program is recommended for those at risk of dropping who permanently cannot attend regular classes.

The program caters to regular high-school students. The Education department also reported that “of those in the formal system, there are [some] who may absent themselves intermittently from school especially during planting and harvest seasons.”

The Open High School or Distance Education Program component gives school dropouts to complete their high-school education even if they find themselves in circumstances that would not allow them to continue going to school under the regular system.

The program is considered formal and structured. Students learn the eight core subjects in English, Science, Mathematics, Filipino, Aralin Panlipunan, Edukasyon sa Pagpapahalaga, and Music and Arts and Physical Education and Health (MAPEH). They graduate by completing the four levels from first year to fourth year.

The grading system is the same as that in the regular program. Students in the Open High School or Distance Education Program also graduate with the regular students at the end of the school year.

School interventions

The School Initiated Interventions is utilized based on the felt needs of students at the risk of dropping out and to the existing available school resources.

Since the Drop Out Reduction Program was implemented, there has been a significant change in drop-out rates in the secondary level. From 12.51 percent in 2005 to 2006 academic year, the rate went down to 7.45 percent in 2007 to 2008.

The Drop Out Reduction Program was formulated to respond to the needs of students who cannot report to class regularly because they are working either as part time or full time or because of other reasons. –James Konstantin Galvez, Reporter, Manila Times