CHAPTER I

Introduction

(Proposed Title: Student At Risk: An Assessment of School Drop Out at San Cristobal National
High School)

One of the important pillars for human development is education. In the Philippine

Development Plan 2011-2016, education is given much more importance to succeed in

developing citizen capable of nation building. Education is essential for inclusive growth: with

more education, those at the lower end of income distribution are provided a pathway to move

out of poverty. Benefits are not limited to individuals with their improved earning potentials. The

country is also propelled in a more sustained path of economic performance with a more

educated and productive workforce. Inrecognition of the significance of education in sustainable

development, the global community, including the Philippines, committed to Education for All

(EFA) targets and the Millennium Development Goals that include providing universal primary

education (UPE), eliminating gender disparities in education, along with other lofty aims to

improve the living standards and welfare of everyone, especially of marginalized sectors in

society. (Almeda et.al, 2012)

While education is a key part of national development policy, rhetorics do not necessarily

translate into resources and outcomes for the sector. Trends in basic education statistics suggest

that the country faces challenges in meeting the EFA targets and Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) for basic education (e.g., Caoli-Rodriguez, 2007; Maligalig& Albert, 2008). The 2009

EFA Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO 2008) even identified the Philippines to be among the
countries with decreased net enrolmentrate from 1999 to 2006, and a considerable magnitude of

out-of-school children (morethan half a million).

Dropout is simply defined as leaving school for practical reasons, necessities, or

disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Dropout is a

problem for many reasons. From the efficiency perspective, dropout is a concern in at least two

dimensions. One, at the aggregate economy level wherein education is known to be an important

determinant of economic growth and premature dropout means loss of potential productivity.

And two, within the education sector, dropout raises the cost of achieving a targeted proportion

of the population having some level of schooling (Hanushek, Lavy, and Hitomi 2006). The other

area where dropout is a problem—and perhaps the moreimportant one—is from the equity

perspective. Dropouts may appear small in number but they are preponderant among the poor

which thereupon turns the wheels of intergenerational transmission of poverty against them. At

the personal level, dropping out of school will mean consigning one to a future of low-income

trajectory. Given a choice, one will obviously not opt for this. However, we see a considerable

number of school-aged children who are not in school and most probably, it is not of their own

choice. ( Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities: Philippines, UNICEF, 2010) .

The problem about the increasing dropout rate in the country lead the Department of

Education to mainstream dropout reduction program through the Department Order no. 74 s.

2010 or Guidelines on Mainstreaming the Dropout Reduction Program (DORP) in the Public

Secondary Schools. This mandates to find, reach, keep and make learners complete school.

Since the implementation of the Project ReACH through the DORP, 3.4 Million youth aged 12-

15 years old has encouraged to come to school and finish schooling. The effectiveness of the

Dropout Reduction Program (DORP) in reducing dropout rate, in the attainment of zero dropout
rates, in increasing participation rate and improving learning outcomes using formal, non formal

and informal approaches has been proven in many schools across the regions (D.O 74 s 2010).

Filipinos and the government put importance to education, and yet there are children who

are not in school, and there are also students at risk of dropping out (SARDO), then there are

supply side and demand side factors that have to be examined. Children who are not in school

are likely to be disadvantaged, and the conditions faced by these children can reinforce, if not

exacerbate, existing socio economic inequalities. This paper will discuss the surrounding factors

of student dropout in school and the measures on how it will be abated.