CV working students under DSWD tutoring program receive payout

CEBU, Philippines —  Close to 700 college working students from Central Visayas serving as tutors and development workers under a program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are among the first batch of beneficiaries in the country to get their payout.

These college working students are serving as tutors and Youth Development workers (YDWs), and parents-and-guardians of the elementary beneficiaries of the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program.

The tutors and YDWs under the program was set to receive cash in exchange for the tutorial and parenting sessions they have conducted with the grade school learners and parents, said DSWD spokesperson, Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao.

As of August 16, the DSWD has distributed the cash aid to the beneficiaries in Region-7, as well as in Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Central Visayas, so far, has the highest number of beneficiaries at 674 with 444 of them tutors and 230 as YDWs. They received P9,360 each.

BARMM, on the other hand, has 210 tutors and 105 YDWs with each of them getting P6,820 each, while 216 tutors and 48 YDWs from SOCCSKSARGEN got P8,060 each.

The amount they received is equivalent to 20 reading and parenting sessions, which was based on the regional minimum wage rate in their areas they served.

A student from Cebu Normal University (CNU), Florence Jill Cabanes, who served as a tutor, said the experience she gained from teaching the children can contribute to her chosen field.

“Marami talaga ang naitulong ng DSWD. First of all, sa financial needs naming mga students. Mga students from state colleges yung napili which is really needed talaga namin. Kahit one month lang sya, hindi lang kami yung natuto pati na rin yung mga bata. Meron din silang natutunan. This is a very nice program na magandang ipagpatuloy…Madadala din namin itong mga experience namin in the field of teaching when we become teachers na din,” Cabanes said as she thanked the DSWD.

Aside from that, Asec.Dumlao said parents and guardians from the same regions also received their CFW payouts.

“A total of 7,709 parents and guardians of struggling and non-reader elementary students received their CFW amounting to P4,700 each for attending 20 Nanay-Tatay teacher sessions,” Asec.Dumlao added.

The Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program is the reformatted educational assistance program of the DSWD that creates an ecosystem of learning by training college students from low-income families who are in difficult situations to become tutors and YDWs.

Meanwhile, DSWD is encouraging beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to enroll their children for the school year 2024-2025 through the Bata Balik Eskwela (BBE) campaign.

DSWD-7 4Ps Division Chief Jiah Sayson said that through this campaign, the department would like to bring back to school the 4Ps children beneficiaries, especially those who stopped going to school or have difficulty continuing their studies.

Sayson said that 4Ps children beneficiaries are stakeholders of the program and are responsible for complying with one of the main conditions of 4Ps relating to education.

Sayson said that the program, however, recognizes some children have difficulty continuing their studies for various reasons.

Part of the DSWD intervention, Sayson shared, is house visitations of 4Ps households whose children failed to attend classes in the previous school year.

During the home visits, the 4Ps City and Municipal Link (C/MLs) would talk to the parents and their children to identify issues and barriers that prevent them from attending school and complying with the condition on education.

To encourage the children more, the C/MLs also distribute flyers, orient the children on child rights, and conduct focus group discussions (FGD) to identify the reasons for absenteeism and possible interventions in coordination with the parents and the local government units. (CEBU NEWS)