Abot Alam education program goes nationwide

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Youth Commission (NYC) launched yesterday the nationwide implementation of the Abot-Alam program, which aims to provide various education and employment opportunities for the country’s out-of-school youth (OSY).

Abot-Alam is an initiative that aims to locate OSY and enroll them in appropriate program interventions in education, entrepreneurship, and employment.  

DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said they have mapped over 1.2 million OSY to date. 

Around 76,000 of them have already been enrolled in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) program, Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM), done skills training, or been employed, Luistro said.

“The collective goal of the program is to ensure that every OSY aged 15 to 30 will have the chance to finish high school, acquire the needed skills to be productive, or be given opportunities to either be employed or go into business,” Luistro said.

Abot-Alam envisions a Zero OSY Philippines by 2016, Luistro said.

He said the program is proof of the government’s continued thrust to provide all Filipinos access to quality education and ensure that “no learner is left behind.”

NYC Commissioner Sixto “Dingdong” Dantes III, meanwhile, called on the public to adopt an OSY and ensure that they are enrolled in the Abot-Alam program.

He also urged OSY, who are among the NYC’s primary stakeholders, to pursue education and learning as a means to achieve their dreams. 

The government has allocated P1.97 billion to the DepEd for the implementation of the Abot-Alam program this year.

Under the leadership of DepEd and the NYC, the Abot-Alam program will be carried out through the convergence of efforts between national government agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs) and private institutions.