ADOPT A SCHOOL

A Project Proposal
Despite being a democratic country and the rise of liberal ideologies in the
country, the Philippines is still rank at number 71 in terms of education according to
the Human Development Index that was released in the 2009. According to the
same index, the change in the education system of the Philippines between 2009
and 2006 is only 0.001. Clearly, the Philippines growth development in the
education sector is not admirable. There may be a rise in the consciousness against
corruption but the actual data suggests that the quality of education is still
insufficient.
According to Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), the public school system
under the Aquino administration still has the existing shortages that are not being
address and they are rather aggravated by the hasty implementation of the new
K+12

curriculum

(http://bulatlat.com/main/2013/07/19/shortages-lack-of-budget-

still-afflict-public-school-system/)
The 249.2 billion budget for education is obviously lacking and this
insufficiency can be observed in the massive shortages in textbooks, chairs and
classrooms that were evident most specially in Metro Manila. The Department of
Educations (DepEd) data shows that shortages in classrooms are pegged at 19,579,
60 million shortages in textbooks, 2.5 million shortages in chairs and 80, 937
shortages in water and sanitation facilities while 770 schools in Metro Manila, Cebu,
and Davao are overcrowded.
The lack of support for education, coupled with the issue of poverty, results to
the disinterest of students and their parents from the prospects of educational

attainments which, in turn, causes the high number of drop outs and ultimately, the
high number of out of school youths. According to Castro, the secretary general of
ACT, there is a serious need to address the number of out of school children.
According to UNESCOs data, the Philippines has 1.4 million out of school children.
The Philippines is the only ASEAN country that is included in the top five countries
with the highest number of out of school youth. The DepEds 2012 data showed a
6.38 percent dropout rate in primary school and 7.82 percent in secondary.
In recognition of its own insufficiency to provide for the educational needs of
its citizens as well as the realization of the NGOs capacity to help, the Congress
passed Republic Act 8525 which allows private entities to assist a public school,
whether elementary, secondary, or tertiary. The said law requires the signing of a
Memorandum of Agreement specifying the details of the adoption that shall be
entered into between the adopting entity and the head of the school concerned.
In the DepEds Adopt-A-School-Program Kit, the department explained the
different ways by which private entities can contribute for the welfare of the
students. This includes Infrastructure, Physical Facilities, Furniture, and Real Estate,
Learning Support, Health and Nutrition, Reading Program, and Technology Support.