My Mushings

The Department of Education is strengthening its Essential Health Care Program (EHCP) by coming up with a monitoring and evaluation system which it developed in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund and Fit for School.

According to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, it is important that a program has a strong monitoring and evaluation component to regularly check on the project’s progress and find ways for further improvement.

“If we want to sustain a program for the long haul, we need to have a systematic monitoring and feedback mechanism from the ground level to serve as our guide for subsequent plan of action,” said Luistro.

EHCP seeks to curb the incidence of diseases among public school children due mainly to poor hygiene and inadequate sanitation practices. Its components include the provision of safe drinking water, toilets, oral health kit, hand-washing facilities in schools and twice-a-year deworming activities.

Some of the main causes of absenteeism and dropping out of school among elementary students are health issues, oral hygiene, hunger and inadequate preparatory schooling.

The monitoring and evaluation system is expected to strengthen the school-based management of EHCP and properly assess the program coverage.

DepEd prescribes the use a standard monitoring form with an action plan plus an on-line monitoring system. Luistro added that the use of the monitoring tool takes effect August 2011 in all EHCP-implementing schools.

For this purpose the education chief ordered all school officials to coordinate with their respective division health and nutrition sections to ensure proper and effective use of the monitoring tool consistent with the provisions of the implementing guidelines. We also want to include other means of livelihood in the curriculum like planting liliy flowers

“EHCP is a very critical education intervention tool which we must be able to carry out properly and effectively, thus the full cooperation of all concerned is enjoined,” added Luistro.