DepEd hires 150 students for summer job program

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) has hired 150 students for its special summer employment program.

Education Secretary Mona Dumlao-Valisno said the 150 new hires will be given an opportunity to work at DepEd under the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES), giving them a chance to earn money and have a sense of personal responsibility.

“This is their best bet for summer, sort of an on-the-job training for 40 days which could give them a good head start,” said Valisno.

The department has stepped up this year the implementation of the SPES by allocating about P1.6 million budget to qualified students.

Those selected for the program will be paid a minimum daily wage, 60 percent of which will be shouldered by DepEd and the remaining 40 percent by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Lawyer Ernesto Sotto Jr., of the DepEd’s Center for Students and Co-Curricular Affairs, said all the applicants were thoroughly screened based on requirements set by law.

“The final selection was based on the applicants’ qualifications, fitness, need and skills to match the requirements of the various DepEd offices,” Sotto explained.

SPES trainees started reporting to their respective offices last April 5.

The SPES is an annual work-appreciation program under Republic Act 9547, “An Act Strengthening and Expanding the Coverage of the Special Program for the Employment of Students.”

It aims to help poor but deserving students pursue their education by encouraging their employment during summer and/or Christmas vacations.

The students are assigned to offices where there is a need for them or are aligned with their courses.

In general, the assignments include clerical work and coordinative tasks, added Sotto.

For example, students taking courses in Accounting and Finance are assigned to the Accounting and Cash and Budget Divisions.

Information Technology students, on the other hand, are assigned to offices where advance computer-related skills such as programming and designing are useful.

“At the end of their engagement with DepEd, these trainees are expected to have learned basic office operation, decorum and other skills which they will need in the future,” Valisno stressed.

The SPES was enacted on Feb. 6, 1992.

It was amended last year when President Arroyo signed RA 9547 into law. It is a joint undertaking of the DOLE, DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Finance, and local government units nationwide.

Under the new SPES law, applicants must be at least 15 years old but not more than 25 years old; and obtained an average passing grade during the last school/term attended.

Also, the combined annual net income of both parents of the applicants should be P36,000 or less.

Meantime, out-of-school youths who wish to apply for the program should possess skills necessary in an office setting.