Female farmer, 66, gets diploma

CEBU, Philippines - For A 66-year-old farmer from Barangay Lahug, one is never too old to graduate. Purita Radan, finally received her high school diploma yesterday afternoon during the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Completion Exercises held at Asian College of Technology gymnasium.

Radan was just one of the 1,231 students who completed the ALS program in both elementary and secondary.

Of the said number, 1,088 students graduated from the secondary level while 143 completed the elementary ALS program.

Her husband, Teodoro, also 66, was also a learner in the said program but he failed the exam due to his poor eyesight.

Mercedita Perez, one of the couple’s instructors, said that most of Teodoro’s answers were misplaced. Nevertheless, Perez said that Teodoro will still re-enroll next year.

“As a matter of fact, both of them plan to pursue a degree in college,” Perez added. She is the ALS coordinator for Cebu North District III.

Perez revealed that it was the couple who went to the center. “Gusto daw nila magtapos ng pag-aaral, panahon na daw kasi nila since may kanya-kanya nang buhay ang mga anak nila and I can really see that they try their best to go to the center every session. (They said they want to finish school and that it is the right time for them because their children are now independent…)”

She said the couple was very diligent in their studies and frequently asks questions on matters that they do not understand. Perez pointed out that the Radan couple even asks for more workbooks or other learning materials.

In an interview with The Freeman, Purita related that when she was still young, their family was dirt poor. After she graduated in elementary, she was told that she needed to stop studying as the family can no longer sustain her education as well as that of her other siblings.

As a result, she helped her mother and went to work in the fields to help the family’s income.

The mother of seven then said that although she has been diagnosed as having early symptoms of an eye problem, graduating from ALS is already a fulfillment of her dreams.

She then challenged the younger ones.

“Kung ako gani nakahuman sa akong pagtuon bisan ingon ani na ang akong edad, unsa pa kaha ang mga batan-on nga mas kusgan? (I managed to finish my studies at my current age, how much more the youth who has more energy?”

Marilou Adorable, ALS Coordinator of the Don Sergio Osmeña, Sr. Memorial National High School, said most of the students who take the ALS program belong to the urban poor, are dropouts and overage students who are ashamed to continue studying in regular schools.

With ALS, only a birth certificate is required.

Adorable proudly revealed that under her guidance, four students graduated as Cum Laude in college while one is a placer for the licensure exam for librarians. –(FREEMAN)