Gusto ko mobalik og eskwela aron makakita ko og tarong nga trabaho pero maulaw na ko kay tiguwang na ko (I want to go back to school to have a decent job but I’m shy because I’m already old),” said Biboy.
In the Philippines, one out of eight Filipinos or 6.24 million of the estimated 39 million Filipinos aging six to 24 years old is an out-of-school-youth, according to the results from the 2010 Annual Poverty Indicator Survey released by the National Statistics Office.
Indeed, this is quite a number. But quite a number of them too are working hard to alleviate themselves from this frightening situation and to open doors for themselves to have decent jobs in the future.
Due to financial constraints, Biboy, not his real name, 16, of barangay Mabolo, Cebu City was forced to stop schooling when he was in fourth grade. Since then, Biboy has been messing around the community with his friends instead of going to school.
But looking at other youth who go to school everyday, Biboy realized that education is important to have a better life.
Recognizing the youth as key agents of socio-economic development and technological innovation, AboitizLand and Aboitiz Foundation extend their support to the local government of Mabolo and the Department of Education by helping put up an eSkwela Center in Mabolo.
Since 2009, AboitizLand has been able to help 840 out-of-school youth and adults through the eSkwela program. Out of the 840, 176 already earned their diplomas while the rest need to take the exam again.
The eSkwela is a flagship project of the Commission of Information and Communications Technology (CICT) together with the DepEd-Bureau of Alternative Learning System.
The eSkwela, under the Alternative Learning System (ALS), provides ICT-enhanced educational opportunities for the country’s out-of-school youth and adults. Like the ALS, the eSkwela can be a substitute whenever one does not have or cannot access formal education in schools.
The difference between ALS and eSkwela is that ALS uses a traditional modular medium of instruction while eSkwela uses computer and internet modules.