Manila: The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) has partnered with a volunteer group led by a CNN ‘Hero of the Year' awardee to bring their novel classroom cart concept to more areas in the country.
Education Secretary Armin Luistro and Efren Peñaflorida, who represents the the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC), recently signed the agreement which formally taps the organisation to help the government provide basic education to street children and out-of-school youth.
The education department in return will train teachers and volunteers on community-based teaching methods as well as on a programme to reduce drop out rates among high school level students.
"Using these approaches, we want to bring back [the] love of learning among children and adults who have lost interest in studying," Luistro said.
The DepEd will likewise accept DTC learners applying for equivalency and validation tests as well as grade or year-level acceleration schemes administered by the government.
Ultimate goal
Luistro said the ultimate goal is to bring poor youths in urban areas back to formal school so that they can complete their basic education. "These are people who have no access to education, hygiene and sometimes even love from their families," added DTC's Peñaflorida.
Peñaflorida became the face of the DTC and was featured in the network's CNN Hero's segment. He was later adjudged CNN ‘Hero of the Year' in 2009, besting 9.000 nominees from 100 countries. The DTC was also awarded $100,000 (Dh367,269) to enable the group to continue with their work.
