Study shows enrollment in 4Ps areas increased
There is an increase in enrollment in day care centers, pre-school, elementary and high school in areas where the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) were initially implemented as shown by a study, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral reported to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that the study conducted in the four pilot municipalities of CARAGA, Region 10, Caloocan and Pasay cities, where the 4Ps were initially implemented, showed that enrolment in day care centers, pre-school, elementary and high school increased from 69 percent to 97 percent, 145 to 179 percent, 16 to 18 percent and 3 to 12 percent, respectively, from 2007 to 2008.
The study also showed that 2007-2009 attendance rates were on an upswing: daycare (83 to 89 percent), pre-school (80 to 94 percent), elementary (88 to 92 percent), and high school (91 to 96 percent.
Cabral made the report during the ceremonies that marked the submission of a Memorandum of Agreement between the DSWD and the 444 local chief executives signifying their support for the 4Ps at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of Malacanang, recently.
On her part, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo lauded the DSWD and participating local government units for expanding the 4Ps to benefit one million Filipino households, said a Malacanang report.
The 4Ps is the government’s poverty reduction and social development program that provides conditional cash grants of as much as P1,400 to marginalized households to improve their health, nutrition, and education, particularly in children aged 0 to 14 years old.
In return for the cash grants, the beneficiaries must comply with the conditions of the program that include: having pregnant women get pre-and post-natal care, requiring parents and guardians to attend responsible parenthood sessions, mothers classes and parent effectiveness seminars; and ensuring that children 0 to 5 years of age receive regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines.
The conditions are set to break the vicious cycle of poverty among poor households that is transferred from one generation to another. (PIA)
