With ARMM having one of the highest incidence of poverty in the country, it is but normal to expect a big number of out-of-school youth (OSY) in its midst. High school is expected to be free in our concept of Education for All, but the DEP-ED is limited in its budget to provide for free secondary education. Facilities are already poor for the elementary level; what more can be expected at the secondary level? After graduating from elementary, the youth are faced with the problem of looking for work. Without employment, the rural areas become a fertile ground for the recruitment of Abu Sayyaf members, New Peoples Army, and criminal groups. There were reports that the Abu Sayyaf gives P5,000 pesos each to new recruits while the NPA and rebel groups entice new members based on ideological reasons.

What can be done to the youth who are out of school at an early age? Many of these OSY remain in the rural areas to help their parents who work in the fields. But the agricultural sector can only absorb a small portion; those who find work in agriculture are still underemployed. The only alternative is to leave for the urban areas where due to lack of skills, many are forced to take menial jobs – as domestic helpers or as “cargadores”. Worse, they become involved in criminal activities such as illegal drug pushing or robbery and hold-up.

Changing lives with education

It is no secret that household helpers in this region start working young – 16 or 17 – and are primarily high school dropouts whose parents cannot continue sending them to school due to poverty. These are the workers who learn from experience. Employers hire them with the expectation that they will learn while working – how to cook, how to baby sit, how to do the laundry. Some even have to be taught how to clean the house. The Kasambahay Law therefore becomes a burden to the employers of these youngsters. With a minimum pay of P2,000 (according to the law), an employer is even obligated to enroll them with the SSS program. To top it all, when the kasambahay has acquired the skills needed, he or she goes to Manila or abroad! It seems that the government is passing on to the ordinary citizen in the provinces the task of providing education to the OSYs. The authors of the Kasambahay Law shouldn’t have just based their observations on Manila practices, but should have looked into the situation in the provinces.

Hopefully, with the K+12 program of DEP-ED, we can provide diversified skills to our youth; that is if parents can still afford the additional 2 years added to the curriculum. If we are so concerned with improving the chances of our youth to have a better future, we should not limit our sights to those who are fortunately already in the regular path. We should focus more on those out-of-school who have strayed away because of poverty. Together with the K+12 program, the TESDA should be given a chance to come up with a more realistic program to address the needs of our OSYs.

Eva Kimpo-Tan is the editor-in-chief of The Mindanao Cross, the oldest Catholic weekly in the southern Philippines.