Mandaluyong kids to get free kinder to high school education

The local government of Mandaluyong City will shoulder children's schooling from preschool to high school following a new city ordinance, which outlines the rights of children and the accompanying responsibilities these impose on their parents. 

 

According to a report on GMA News TV's "News To Go" aired Friday, the city government  is also imposing a stricter policy on the education of children within its jurisdiction, obligating parents to send their children to school regardless of economic status.

 

Aside from getting basic necessities such as food, shelter, and safety, children have a right to education as specified in Ordinance No. 538, S-2014, or the city's "Code of Parental Responsibility."

 

Listed among the duties of parents are providing the child "with proper education in accordance with the means of the family, including monitoring his attendance and performance in school."

 

Section 12.3 of the ordinance added: "Criminal liability shall attach to any parent having parental authority and responsibility who fails or refuses, without justifiable grounds, to enroll the child."

 

A parent may also face penalties if he or she "fails to monitor" the child's academic performance, and misses parent-teacher conferences "without justifiable grounds."

 

Those who will violate the ordinance may face the following penalties, and even be sent to jail:

 

‘No excuse’

 

Councilor Charisse Abalos, who authored the ordinance, said the government's policy to shoulder school expenses for children eliminates poverty as an excuse for parents who do not enroll their children in class.

 

Educating and caring for the children, she added, is an investment for the future.

 

"If mapalaki mo nang maayos ang bata, sila ay well-equipped for the future," she told GMA News. "These [children] will grow up to be future leaders in their own fields."

 

The ordinance likewise states the "special parental authority" of schools and its administrators and teachers, obligating them to monitor the children's progress as well.

 

For her part, Schools Division Superintendent Evangeline Ladines of the Department of Education in Mandaluyong, said their duty as teachers lies beyond the technical lessons they impart in classrooms.

 

"Kaming mga teachers ay hindi lang naman [nandito] para matuto 'yung mga bata para magbasa, hindi lang 'yung bata ay matuto sa iba't ibang konsepto at kasanayan na dapat niyang taglayin," Ladines said. "Nandoon din 'yung aming hangarin na paglaki ng mga batang ito ay maging kapaki-pakinabang sila, hindi sila maging liability ng komunidad." 

 

Alternative Learning System

 

Aside from this new policy, the government has also opened its resources to anyone who wishes to earn a college degree through the Alternative Learning System.

 

Among those who will benefit from the program is 22-year-old Joshua Rubia, who had to stop studying after his mother's death 10 years ago. He currently helps his father sell vegetables at the public market to earn for their family's day-to-day needs.

 

Rubia, who stopped schooling when he was in fifth grade, told GMA News that the opportunity will enable him to secure a better job so he can better provide for his family.

 

"'Pag nakatapos ako, hindi lang importante 'yon para sa pamilya ko, kundi para sa magiging pamilya ko rin sa hinaharap," he told GMA News. "Gusto ko ring magkaroon ng maayos na buhay. Makakapag-umpisa na ako from here." —Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/KG, GMA News