TACLOBAN CITY– The regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said in a statement that some beneficiaries of their program had graduated high school.
These includes 15 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) grantees whose studies were stopped due to poverty and because they married early.
These parents graduated from high school through Alternative Learning System at Hinabangan Central Elementary School.
“These 4Ps beneficiaries proved that poverty and age are not hindrances from pursuing their dreams to continue schooling,” the DSWD-8 said in the statement.
The 15 graduates are part of the 3rd batch of ALS program at the Hinabangan Central Elementary School in Hinabangan, Samar.
Aside from the 4Ps completers, some children-in-conflict with the law (CICL) who are residents at the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth (RCCY), a DSWD facility located in Tanauan town had also finished Senior High School and complete their Junior High.
The RRCY is a residential facility that provides intensive treatment for the rehabilitation of male CICLs whose sentences have been suspended, and as a nurturing out-of-home placement to enhance their psychological, emotional, and psychosocial well-being.
At least five CICLs had graduated from their senior high school, three junior high completers, and 16 other students had advanced to the next grade level.
Six students graduated with honors, 24 students received conduct awards, six students for outstanding performance in the arts, three students for outstanding performance in literature, and two students were given the leadership award.
Formal education inside the facility started in 2020 after the DSWD and the Department of Education Leyte Division signed a memorandum of agreement to open a class inside the rehabilitation facility for Grades 7 to 12.
“The graduation and moving up ceremony served as a powerful reminder that the unwavering support of the government and the community can empower CICLs to overcome their past and build a brighter future,” the DSWD-8 statement added.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
