DepEd says 4 million Filipino children not in schools

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) has six more years to bring the remaining 15 percent or almost four million school-age children into public schools.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said this is the global thrust of the Education For All (EFA) program of the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

He said these out of school youth should be in schools by 2015 as outlined in the EFA program. “Milyun pa din ‘yan kasi (15 percent pa rin) ang wala sa mga paaralan (There are still millions (or 15 percent) of children are not in school ,” Lapus said in a radio interview.

He said children aged six to 16 years should be enrolled in schools by 2015. “By 2015 ang ambition ng Unesco sa buong mundo. Tayo six years pa kaya pang habulin ‘yun (The target of Unesco for this is 2015. It’s still six years away. We can still do it,” Lapus said.

He lamented the short-term view and mindset of some parents who opt to let their children to earn a living in a very young age.

The department has implemented some programs and educational interventions throughout the years to entice children to go back to schools. –Dennis Carcamo, Philippine Star