Six million young Filipinos out of school – poverty survey

MORE than six million young Filipinos are out of school because of the high cost of education, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Based on the NSO’s 2010 annual poverty indicators surveys, 16 percent of the estimated 39 million Filipinos aged six to 24 either could not enroll or dropped out of school because of poverty.

Out of school youth are those aged six to 17 who are not attending formal school and those aged 18 to 24 who are currently out of school, not gainfully employed and have not finished college or post-secondary course.

The high cost of education was the leading reason for not attending school (28.9 percent), followed by lack of personal interest, (27.5 percent); marriage, (14 percent) and job hunting (11.2 percent).
Majority of those not studying were women.

The NSO said that one-fifth of the total out of school youth, or OSY, belong to the bottom 10 percent per capita income stratum.

Among the regions, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has the highest percentage of OSY with about 24 percent of its young population not in school, followed by Davao, 19 percent, and Caraga and Central Luzon, with 18 percent each.

Cordillera Administrative Region has the lowest percentage of OSY at 10 percent. –Darwin G. Amojelar, Manila Times