Various stakeholders of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Burdeos, Quezon collaborated towards encouraging child-beneficiaries of the program to go back to school. In a symposium conducted last July 26, a total of 31 4Ps children, who were not attending school as of the previous school year, have completed their pre-enrollment process.

Dubbed as ‘Bata, Bata, Kumusta Ka Na?, this symposium is an intervention initiated by the 4Ps Municipal Operations Office of Burdeos to determine the specific needs of children  and refer them to appropriate agencies or organizations to encourage them and help them to go back to school.

Depending on the reasons of the non-enrollment of the children, the participants (41 children and 36 parents) were grouped and provided with sessions on child labor and work; teenage pregnancy and family planning; importance of basic literacy; programs and services offered by the Alternative Learning System; and, the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Cerjane Dela Cruz, a 4Ps child-beneficiary who previously stopped schooling and went back to school after attending the same symposium last year, attested to how sessions such as these helped in her decision to go back to school.

“Dahil sa kakulangan sa pinansyal at sa sunud-sunod na gastusin ng aming pamilya ay napatigil ako sa pag-aaral. Pero natutunan ko ang kahalagahan ng edukasyon at mas nahikayat ako ng mga speakers na bumalik sa pag-aaral,” shared Dela Cruz, in her message to the participants of the activity.

Dela Cruz is an incoming Grade 12 student this school year.

Meanwhile, as part of the interventions moving forward, the Public Employment Service Office commits to include the child-beneficiaries to the DOLE’s SPES and the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office will continuously provide appropriate social services to their families based on their needs. On the other hand, the Office of the Vice Mayor will provide educational assistance.

Other than the above-mentioned stakeholders, the activity was also supported by the local government of Burdeos and the Department of Education through the principals and teachers of Burdeos National High School and Burdeos Central Elementary School.

In the whole CALABARZON Region, efforts such as this are being conducted to ensure that appropriate interventions are provided to 4Ps children who are not attending school. This enables children and their families to value education and address circumstances hindering their attendance to school.# [with reports from JBMManalo]