Bam Aquino tackles K-12 education, labor competence at DLSU-D

 

Encouraging the youth to be involved and give feedback on the government programs was among the highlights of Senator Bam Aquino’s dialogue.

To discuss the Philippines’ educational reform and its impacts on the labor competence of today’s youth, a short dialogue with Senator Bam Aquino was held by the Council of Student Organizations on October 25 at the Centennial Hall of Hotel Rafael.

During his talk, Aquino discussed the present generation’s traits as the millennials are said to be “more willing” and “open” to connect to the society and befriend those beyond their own generation.

In line with this, he encouraged every Filipino to connect to everyone despite age gaps and generational differences.  “The challenge is to cross from virtual connections and be able to come together to create real change,” Aquino said.

 

Lasallian student leaders gathered at the Centennial Hall and actively participated at Senator Bam Aquino’s dialogue.

In defense of the K to 12 program, Aquino shared that 92 percent of high school students still enrolled for Grade 11 this 2016, a higher percentage compared to the original prediction of only a 70 percent non-dropout rate at the start of the K to 12 implementation.

“SHS (Senior High School) gives students more options and makes sure they have the chance to learn skills needed by industry. The only problem is infrastructure or lack of classrooms,” Aquino furthered.

 

Senator Bam Aquino answered questions from the student leaders about education and Filipino culture.

Moreover, he mentioned that the government still does its best to answer and cater to the needs of the people, especially when it comes to educational reform and the K to 12 program.

He also stated that the Department of Education’s proposed budget for 2017 is P566 billion, with 70 percent allocated for construction and rehabilitation of new classrooms, facilities, and teachers.

In relation to education and labor, Aquino added that the country faces the “biggest problems” today which are unemployment and underemployment, wherein Aquino’s different programs and advocacies for labor competence were discussed.

The short dialogue was concluded with a question and answer portion between Aquino and student leaders among the audience.