DepEd roots out ‘ghost’ students, ‘ghost’ schools in ARMM

The Department of Education (DepEd) has found ghost — or nonexistent — students and schools in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that were allocated government funds despite existing only on paper.

According a report by GMA News reporter Kara David on "24 Oras" aired on Thursday early evening, the "ghost" students and schools began appearing when a Food for School program was launched during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.



Under the program, all students in public schools are given an allocation of rice to help address poverty and hunger that contribute to poor academic records and an increase in illiteracy and drop-out rates.

According to Jamar Kulayan, regional secretary for DepEd in ARMM, the program — although it had good intentions — prompted some schools in the region to create ghost enrollees.

In 2009, there supposedly were 900,000 students registered in ARMM, but when the new ARMM administration double-checked the figures, they found that there were only 680,000 legitimate students. This means that there were more than 200,000 students on the list that did not actually exist.

Kulayan said, "Naisipan siguro ng mga teachers na the more students you will have, the more kilos of rice you will get."

This is why the DepEd launched the Learner's Information System where each student gets their own unique student number. Since 2012, the Education department has discovered 96,374 ghost students in ARMM because of the online system.  

Aside from ghost students, DepEd also discovered ghost schools in ARMM. When officials inspected Rasullulah National High School in Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi, for example, they found an empty lot.

"Kapag marami kang enrollment na naki-create, it will show the need for a classroom, the need for teachers' items. Mas maraming budget," Kulayan explained.

Check my school

To strengthen the monitoring of schools in ARMM, DepEd tied up with the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP), a non-governmental organization that pushes for good governance.

Under the program Check My School, they will check all the listed schools in ARMM to ensure that these are legitimate institutions. They will also check the facilities and the number of teachers.

The program also "allows people to share information and send feedback on their schools, and engages citizens and government—school stakeholders, the local school board, the private sector and various government agencies—in dialogue and collaborative problem solving to help solve school issues," its website said.

ANSA-EAP Executive Director Redempto Parafina also said on Check My School's page that "given the situation in ARMM—of peace, security and poverty, its status as an autonomous region, and the situation where citizens are not as involved in governance—when there is a need for it, interest can be easily built, and resources can be mobilized."

"It is our commitment as well to our constituents in the ARMM. Kung hindi kami ang lilinis nito, sino pa ba ang maglilinis para sa amin," Kulayan told GMA News. — Trisha Macas/JDS, GMA News