Number of high school dropouts decreasing

THE Department of Education (DepEd) revealed on Wednesday that they were able to reduce the number of high school students dropping out with nearly 2,000 secondary schools nationwide registering a zero dropout rate this school year compared to 56 schools last year.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said this was made possible through an intensified campaign and continuous intervention programs under the auspices of the Drop-Out Reduction Program (DORP) of DepEd.

Topping the list of areas where there were no dropouts are Caraga (Region 13), where some 187 high schools recorded no incidence of students quitting during the school year.

Eastern Visayas (Region 8) followed with 127 high schools reporting no drop out, Luistro said.

The official also disclosed that, to date, about 46,000 students have been saved from dropping out and the number continues to increase as reports come in from the regions.

Rounding up the list were:

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which reported 99 schools reporting no dropout; Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) 98 schools;

Central Visayas (Region 7) 86 schools;

Ilocos Region (Region 1) with 84 schools reporting no dropout; Cagayan Valley (Region 2), 83 schools; SOCCSKSARGEN (Region 12) 60 schools; Central Luzon (Region 3) 56 schools; Calabarzon (Region 4A) 60 schools; Northern Mindanao (Region 10) 42 schools; Bicol Region (Region 5) 41; Western Visayas (Region 6) 41; Cordillera Administrative Region 39 schools; Mimaropa (Region 4B) 35 schools; Davao Region (Region 11) 32 schools; and Metro Manila (National Capital Region) 24 schools.

The DepEd chief said the DORP program is effective because the alternative delivery mode for students who are at risk of dropping out (SARDO) is being tailored fit to meet the learners’ unique educational requirement.

“We first check the SARDOs circumstances, then we come up with alternatives that respond to their specific learning needs,” he added.

DepEd records show that the DORP has contributed to the remarkable accomplishment, reducing the high school dropout rate from 12.51 percent in 2005-2006, to 8.55 percent in 2006-2007, 7.45 percent in 2007-2008 and 7.95 percent in 2009-2010.

The department came up with the program to save students from dropping out of the rolls because of financial problems, peace and order issues, physical handicap and family and health concerns, among others. It offers a menu of alternative delivery modes that aim to keep students in school and finish their basic education.

Besides DORP, there is also the Open High School Program (OHSP) which is providing access to all learners who are not capable of coming to school everyday for justifiable reasons. It is a distance education program with unique features like self- directed learning and acceleration by learning area or by year level. This allows working students or previously out-of-school-youth (OSY) to continue studying using specialized learning modules.

Also part of the DORP program is the Schools Initiated Interventions (SII) in which the school itself designs the kind of help a student needs according to his or her unique circumstances. The SII has enabled schools to determine, based on interview, specific problems of students or the real causes for dropping out.

DepEd data also showed that there are nearly 8,000 OHSP graduates of whom 1,355 proceeded to college, 59 went abroad and 719 were employed locally.

Luistro said that the figures may rise as data are still coming in as the DORP team continues to track graduates of the OHSP.

Also, over 6,300 DepEd teachers and school officials have been trained on OHSP –DORP.

Despite the positive development, education experts said that DepEd is confronted by many problems aside from the shortage of school buildings. Particularly, data showed that in the last two years, the participation rate in the elementary and secondary levels stood at 85 percent and 61 percent, or 15 percent were not enrolled in the elementary level and close to 40 percent in the secondary level.

Also, the experts pointed out that out of 100 students, only 66 will finish elementary education, 42 will finish high school and only 25 will go to college.

Rep. Antonio Tinio of Alliance for Concerned Teachers party-list said that the current education system is in crisis, citing the continued hike in the ranks of the out-of-school-youth.

He added that in 2002, there were approximately 1.87 million out-of-school children between the ages of six and 15, and this grew to 3.33 million in 2007. This means that within a span of five years, the ranks of the out-of-school youth increased by 1.46 million or 78 percent. –SAMMY MARTIN REPORTER, Manila Times