Brigada Eskwela highlights community service, stakeholders' participation

CEBU, Philippines - "There is no other country that prepares for school opening the way the Philippines does. It's only in the Philippines where close to seven million Filipinos actually volunteer to help clean schools," Department of Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC said at the ceremonial opening of Brigada Eskwela in Guimaras.

The education chief highlighted the important role of stakeholders in making Brigada Eskwela happen.

"Brigada Eskwela is not about the cleanest school. It is not about the most organized campus. It's about the whole community transcending differences and working together for the benefit of the Filipino learners," Luistro added.

More than 600 volunteers camped out to help in cleaning, repairing, and making the school safer and resilient for students in time for the school opening on June 2.

"Getting our schools ready for the start of classes in June requires a lot of manpower. Every Filipino can contribute in helping create clean and resilient learning environments for our learners," Luistro said.

Zero OSY

As part of boosting the program for out-of-school youth (OSY), DepEd rolled out the Abot-Alam program in different areas in the country.

"If we all work together not only in beautifying our schools, we can all dream that Guimaras can be the first province in the country that will have "zero out-of-school youth," said Luistro.

With the help of TESDA and partners in education, DepEd will develop alternative delivery modes for the OSY to enable them to finish high school. (FREEMAN)