BELIEVING that education is a birth right, Save the Children Philippines has called for more support to learners amid conflict, violence and poverty, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
BARMM’s Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education Monitoring and Evaluation Team said that poverty, early and forced marriage, as well as the peace and order situation in Sulu hugely impact student retention, resulting to dropouts.
“Most parents here cannot afford the cost of sending their children to school. Many of my students drop out or miss classes because they are forced to help their parents make ends meet,” said Nur-in Abdurajan, who is a teacher in one of Save the Children Philippines’ partner schools in Sulu.
As of September 2023, the Bangsamoro Region has the biggest number of unschooled children because of the high cost of education at 23.2 percent, per data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Worse is that “they can’t even afford to buy…pens,” said Abdurajan.
Early or forced marriages are also a common problem there, as shown in the recent consultation of Save the Children with parents and teachers, wherein many young girls tie the knot to ease their financial situation.
Further, many kids and youth were uprooted by family feuds or rido and armed conflicts in the region, which affect their school attendance.
“Because of all of these, many students are discouraged to go to school, and instead look for means to earn instead. They’d rather not study,” shared Abdurajan.
To help address these problems, Save the Children Philippines came up with “Project SiNDAO 2: Protecting Learning in Conflict and Complex Emergencies in Mindanao” that backs up its partner-schools in Sulu with return-to-learning sessions and semi-permanent learning facilities to help affected learners.
Because of this initiative, local students are now 100-percent retained. The European Union’s humanitarian aid-funded project has so far aided more than 8,000 conflict-affected children and boys in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Basilan.
“The Return to Learning Module is helpful in motivating children to learn in a fun environment,” said Abdurajan, as she confirmed that her students are now able to catch up with their lessons since the sessions are centered on enhancing their reading and numerical skills and socio-emotional learning. Also, they received back-to-school kits with new backpacks, raincoats, and contextualized learning materials.
“My parents will be happy,” one of the back-to-school kit recipients said of the package, as they need not buy school supplies anymore.
“They need all the help they can to overcome [their region’s] problems,” Save the Children Philippines BARMM Office head Mykiel Patcho said.