DepEd says school board funds
to help cut dropout rate

THE Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday welcomed the move of the Department of Interior and Local Government directing local government units to provide supplemental funding for public schools through the local school boards.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the additional funds will help DepEd get more schools to accept five and 11-year-olds and keep them in school.

Through Memorandum Circular No. 95, Acting Interior Secretary Austere Panadero directed governors and mayors to provide funding to the local school board for at least the first two months of the school year when the Parent, Teacher, Community Association (PTCA) collections are not yet available. The directive also advised LGUs to consider public schools' budgetary requirements in reviewing and revising approved local school board budgets.

An earlier study conducted by the National Statistics Coordination Board showed the 7 percent drop from 90 percent five years earlier to 83 percent in the number of children enrolled in primary schools in school year 2006-2007. The drop in enrolment is attributed to poverty aggravated by rising cost of fuel and basic commodities.

DepEd data showed that 24 percent of all dropouts in public elementary schools nationwide were made up of pupils in Grades 1 to 3.

Lapus said DepEd is looking at tapping the largely unutilized school board funds to augment the department's budget. Last year, the fund totaled P17 billion. The amount represents the 10 percent allocation of every LGU to their respective local school board as mandated by the 1991 Local Government Code.

Saying that keeping children in school is a collaborative work among DepEd, parents, local government units and local school boards, Lapus also asked city and municipal councils to come up with an anti-truancy ordinance that will compel parents to keep their children in school.