City Report and Action Plan

Olongapo

Mr. Randino Albina Ledesma
Community Development Assistant 1, Urban Basic Services Program (UBSP-Reach-UP-SUGPO)
Office of City Mayor
Olongapo City Government
Philippines

CITY REPORT

Education System

Public school system is administered by the Department of Education (DepED) of the Philippine Government.

Education is offered through formal and non-formal systems. Formal Education includes achieving different levels and milestones. From 3 - 5 years old, children are in preschool. Elementary grade consists of students 6 - 11 years old and high school is from 12 - 15 years old. College Level is a Bachelor's Degree of 4 years or more (depending upon the chosen course).

The 2002 basic education curriculum aims at raising the quality of the Filipino learners and graduates and empowering them for lifelong learning which requires the attainment of functional literacy. It provides more focus on the tool learning areas for an adequate development of the competencies for learning how to learn. It likewise provides an experiential learning area where the learner can apply practical knowledge and life skills and demonstrate deeper appreciation of Filipino culture and heritage and making values development integral to all learning areas.

A non-formal education (NFE) alternative learning system was developed. This is to be a road map for "Education For All" and a vision for 2015. The system derives from the collaborative thinking of all stakeholders offering programs and projects intended for the upliftment of social and educational status of the community.

Thus, the Alternative Learning System as renamed in Executive Order 366 dated September 16, 2004 is an implementing arm of DepED and a vehicle in providing functional learning capability to the Out of School Youth (OSY) and Adults aging from six (6) years old and above.

The massive advocacy and social mobilization strengthened the ties and collaboration between DepED - ALS (NFE) and other institutions or stakeholders who have strong concern in the development and uplifting of the economic status and welfare of individuals from the quagmire of poverty.

The programs offered by the DepED - ALS (NFE) as lead agency in coordination and collaboration with other agencies, government and non-government agencies to the Out of School Youth and Adults of whatever ethnic or religious group were very beneficial and are doing good to meet the vision and mission of non-formal education, now known by its new name, the Alternative Learning System.

To carry out the mandate of the Alternative Learning System, the DepED Division Office designed a Division ALS Organizational Structure. This may help the program to be effective and efficient in order to reach the target learners. Through the initiative of the City Schools Superintendent and in coordination with the local government unit, the program is well-served to the target learners.

Education as a fundamental right is enshrined in the Constitution and should be accessible to all types of learners through the formal, non-formal and informal channels. As a corollary, the state must provide adequate places of learning with the appropriate social as well as physical infrastructure.

Current States and Challenges

There are some problems with completion, survival, promotion and participation rates.

1. The low completion rate that is, pupils/students finishing Grade VI or Fourth Year means that there are socio-economic factors that may have caused it like the disintegration of the family and the poor economic conditions prevailing in the community.
2. The low survival rate that is, the cohort of pupils/students reaching Grade VI or Fourth Year tells that the school has not provided them the needed teaching-learning atmosphere that maintained the schools' holding power.
3. The high retention rate augurs well for the set of pupils/students that came back to school the following year. It means that few of them left school which indicating better programs and feasible incentives for students to remain in school.
4. The drop-out rate in the elementary school could mean that a great number of pupils left school during the year which spells maybe that no interventions were provided as a contrast to the high school.
5. The high gross enrollment ratio speaks of high access to the schools although there are still more left unschooled.
6. The low net enrollment ratio or participation rate shows that a great number of school-age children are not in school and they should be enticed and encouraged to go to school either in the formal or alternative learning system.
7. The disparity in the promotion rate in the elementary and secondary might be due to parents' concept of just letting children finish at least Grade VI with a diploma and the high cost of high school schooling and the early joining of the youth in the labor force.
8. The high graduation rate indicates that having reached the last year of school, the pupil/student has a drive to finish the year and the school has met their needs.
9. The very high transition rate shows that there is strong force that led graduates in the elementary grades to move to high school which speaks well of sound teaching-learning situations in the schools.
10. The performance indicators in the elementary fared better than the secondary which means that the poorest link is in the secondary. Much remains to be done in the schools to attain the goals of efficiency, effectiveness, equity and excellence. Therefore, more revisiting of school programs, projects and activities, re-tooling of the staff and re-engineering of the system are imperative.

ACTION PLAN

Primary Goals:

1. Universalization of Primary Education for Urban Poor (6 years old to 12 years old)
2. Improve Quality of Education
3. Create new schools & infrastructures