In terms of education, she's been batting for in-school feeding programs or free lunch box programs for all public school students to combat malnutrition inside the schools," he said.

Free lunch

Maximize digital technology for education Eliminate classroom backlogs Expansion of scholarship programs, strengthen the “Study Now, Pay Later”

system Paid internships for college students

Senator Grace Poe supports the Aquino administration's K to 12 program, believing it will equip students with the necessary skills to work and provide for their families.

Poe wants K to 12 graduates to be allowed into the Philippine National Police.

The neophyte senator also actively supports children's nutrition. She filed a bill to provide free lunch programs to public elementary school students.

During Poe's presidential bid declaration, education topped her priorities. She mentioned the following:

Maximize digital technology for education Eliminate backlogs Expand scholarship programs Strengthen the "Study now, pay later" program Help college students find internships and jobs before they graduate If he were alive today, and if he witnessed the programs of

the President, he would agree also with the Conditional Cash Transfer. Not because he would like us to have a dependent citizenry, but because, well, let’s say you have five children, and three of your children are doing well, but two of them

need a little bit more of a push. They need more capital, they need more support, at least when they first start out. The state is like the parent. So you give that push. But obviously, for it to be effective, once they graduate from the Conditional Cash Transfer program, you have to make sure that you’re preparing them for independence, at least in terms of livelihood projects. So my dad would “give a leg up” to those at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.

I don’t think we can say, “OK everybody, just do your own thing, and the state will do its own thing.” The state is there to support its citizens.

He would also agree with the ladder system of the K to 12 program. The goal of every Filipino parent is to have their child finish college. Unfortunately, a college degree, especially from a college that is deficient, does not necessarily prepare a child for the workplace. So, at least in this program, if they already have the skills for a certain vocation, they have an option to work right away.

I like the K to 12. I think the mother tongue approach is good, the focus on early childhood is there. My real dream is to have a Free Lunch program in public elementary schools.

There may be a lot of criticisms about President Marcos, but during his time, they had the Nutribun. I’m sure eight out of 10 of those students in public schools at that time would remember it. I’ve talked to some of them, successful broadcasters like Ted Failon, Arnold Clavio, they remember it. This was done in cooperation with USAID initially, but the government eventually took over, and they were able to implement this nationwide.

Why can’t we have something similar to that now? RDA-infused products that won’t spoil easily, or local products, like in Davao, suha, or Pangasinan, mangoes. We could do this in partnership with the local farmers and their cooperatives.

Poe vowed to allocate 20% of the national budget for priority social services such as education. She wants education to be more accessible and affordable by providing scholarship grants and vouchers to poor but deserving students. She also wants K to 12 graduates to be allowed to enter the Philippine National Police.

On basic needs in education. Poe vowed to eliminate classroom backlogs and maximize digital technology for education. She also wants to fix public schools destroyed by typhoons.

She said her administration will develop a curriculum for indigenous peoples and will initiate reforms in the budget to make sure indigenous people's education is rooted in the IP's' culture. Her target? Build more schools within the 5-kilometer range of IP communities.

On teachers. Poe's promise is to lower income taxes so that teachers will get higher take-home pay. In addition, she wants a Salary Standardization Law that will give teachers across the board a minimum pay of P25,000

On higher education. What awaits college students under a Poe presidency? For starters, she promised to provide free education for indigents (especially children of farmers and fisherfolk) from kindergarten to college. If elected, Poe will make sure all students will enjoy free tuition fees in all SUCs in the country.

Poe has committed to fully implement the UniFAST law, even vowing to expand scholarship programs and strengthen the "Study Now, Pay Later" system for poor students, regardless of whether they want to study in SUCs or in private HEIs. She also wants to provide paid internships for college students, and job opportunities for the fresh graduates.

The senator also has more specific education promises, including:

Free wi-fi, new facilities, and equipment for Southern Luzon State University

A UP campus in Bicol Additional funding for UP Visayas-Miagao, Mindanao State University-

Naawan, Central Luzon State University, Pangasinan State University-Binmaley for the:

o Expansion of their BS Fisheries programs to enroll more students – especially children of fisherfolk – through scholarships, to build better laboratories, and attract more faculty members

o Development of ladderized programs, allowing students to get jobs even before they complete a 4-year undergraduate course

o Training fisherfolk on proper use of technology and equipment, as well as prospects of alternate livelihood for their fishing communities

1. In education, we must attend to the needs of our classrooms. We should maximize digital technology for education, and eliminate backlogs. We shall strive to expand our scholarship programs and strengthen the "Study now, pay later" program. We will also help college students find internships and jobs to gain invaluable experience even before they graduate.

2. Education is the most transformative force there is in any society.

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3. Education Nation 2016 enjoins the winning presidential candidate to push for the creation of a Department of Information Communications Technology, for adequate access to the Internet on a national scale via public-private partnerships (PPPs), for the development of learning institutions in locations relatively safe from the impact of natural disasters, and the provision of adequate space to allow these institutions to perform ad hoc functions such as during calamities and elections.

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