Angara urges pandemic-hit youth to avail jobs under expanded SPES law

Senator Sonny Angara on Sunday called on the Filipino youth, particularly those who were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, to avail themselves of the jobs under Republic Act 10917 or the Expanded Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) law and get their education back on track.

As the author of RA 10917 in the Senate, Angara said the law is particularly timely during this pandemic when the incomes of many families have been affected by the loss of jobs due to the extended lockdowns, be it on a short-term or permanent basis.

“One significant amendment we introduced in the SPES law was the inclusion of the dependents of displaced workers and would-be displaced workers due to business closures or work stoppages in the program,” said Angara, chair of the Senate finance committee.

“With what is being experienced by many Filipino families now, this will help keep their children in school,” he said.

Last year the Department of Education said that it expected the number of out-of-school youth (OSY) to reach four million due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the spike in OSY numbers includes students from private schools who opted against enrolling in the previous school year because of the prohibition on face-to-face classes, Angara said the data remains alarming.

Based on 2017 Philippine Statistics Authority data, nine percent or 3.53 million of the estimated 39.2 Filipinos aged 6 to 24 years old were considered OSYs.

The PSA data indicated that the most common reasons among OSYs for not attending school were marriage or family matters, lack of personal interest, and high cost of education or financial concerns.

Under the Expanded SPES law, OSY and those enrolled in the tertiary, vocational or technical education may be employed any time of the year, while students enrolled in the secondary level can be employed only during summer and/or Christmas vacations.

“Ang halagang makukuha ng ating mga kabataan mula sa SPES ay makakatulong sa pagtustos nila sa mga gastusin sa kanilang pagaaral,” Angara said.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)