Drop out rate for public elementary and secondary schools in South Cotabato has significantly decreased during the administration of Governor Reynaldo S. Tamayo Jr. with the full implementation of the “No Collection Policy” under the Free Education program which is one of the flagship programs in the province.
Based on the End-of-School-Year (EOSY) Data for the school year 2018-2019 with a total of 3,985 dropouts, it went down to 2,082 dropouts ( 969 for the elementary and 1,113 for the secondary ) for the same period in 2019-2020 during the start of his administration which posted a decrease by 1,903 dropouts.
The Data also shows that Surallah has the highest number of decrease in dropouts with 350; Polomolok, 315; Lake Sebu, 182; Norala, 181; Tboli , 163; Banga, 149; Sto. Nino, 147; Tupi, 106; Tantangan, 100; and Tampakan, 70.
Under the administration of Governor Tamayo, the province has provided at least Php111.9 million financial assistance to the DepEd South Cotabato Division to ensure that education is free and accessible for all.
Apart from the usual Special Education Fund intended for the education department for their maintenance and other operating expenses pegged at Php44 million this year, the provincial government has established another development project dubbed as Financial Assistance to Public Education amounting to Php34.7 million.
Earlier today, the provincial government has started the release of said funds to a total of 587 public schools composed of 130 elementary schools and 387 secondary schools.
DepEd South Cotabato Schools Division Superintendent Ruth Estacio said the financial assistance provided to them clearly supports the mandate of the Department of Education that “ no students should be left behind”.
Without having the burden to pay for more school fees in the schools, parents can send their children to schools for free.
Out of the said funds, the province shouldered the payment for the hiring of more Provincial School Board teachers, school guards, and utility workers.
“We really felt loved,” Estacio said,
Meanwhile, Provincial Administrator Atty. Renette B. Bergado disclosed that aside from the hiring of additional manpower complements in schools, the province plans to hire more office clerks to handle administrative works.
To date, there were at least 60 newly hired office clerks assigned at different public schools in the province.
With Governor Tamayo at the helm, aside from making administrative works easier for schools, he also wanted to provide employment opportunities in this time of the pandemic.
The provincial government plans to increase the hiring of these office clerks in the future with the province’s continued support to the education sector.
