LANAO SUR GOOD NEWS! Abot-Alam kicks-off in Lanao del Sur By: Ayunan G. Gunting// The local government of Lanao del Sur is taking the initiative to address the persisting problem and the growing number of Filipinos not attending schools through the implementation of the country’s program for the out-of-school youth. The Abot-Alam “Zero OSY (out-of-school youth) Lanao” has officially been launched in the province last week, making it one of pioneer implementers of the program in the country. “Ikinagagalak po natin at napabilang ang Lanao del Sur sa mga lalawigang unang naglunsad ng Abot Alam. (We are very happy that Lanao del Sur is among the provinces which will initially launch the Abot Alam program). And I guess we are the first in ARMM addressing this challenge,” Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong, Jr. said. Adiong said that despite being regarded as the hope of the nation, the country’s youth has often been abused and disregarded, especially those which are out of school. “Mabigat po sa ating loob na amining (It is hard on our part to admit that) they form a bigger chunk of our youth sector, karamihan po sa ating mga kabataan ay hindi nag-aaral, hindi nakapagtapos sa high school (majority of our youth are currently out of school, not able to finish high school),” Adiong said. “Together, as one team, let us do what we can to in our capabilities to champion the cause of our youth sector, help them become mature, and responsible citizens equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life,” the governor added. The Abot Alam is a national strategy for out-of-school youth ages 15 to 30 years old aimed to address the needs of the fast growing number of Filipino youth who have dropped out or have never had any schooling at all. The program is intended to be undertaken in two phases which includes a barangay targeting system and a community reintegration program. The barangay targeting system is expected to come up with a comprehensive database of out-of-school youth, enabling the government to know their total percentage in the country. Under the community reintegration phase, meanwhile, the government will aim to reintegrate the out-of-school youth to their communities through programs and services offered by the Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), and other partner agencies. The Abot Alam program is a joint undertaking of the National Youth Commission, DepEd, and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 13:51:05 +0000