Seeing
the need for an improved educational system in a rural community,
the Pilar Integrated Educational Support Program (PIESUP)
was conceived through the collective efforts of the LGU
officials and other private and civic organizations in the
area. Since its inception in 1988, PIESUP has worked towards
the upliftment of the quality of life of Pilareños
by providing (1) educational opportunities to poor but deserving
students from pre-school to college levels and (2) skills
enrichment trainings to out-of-school youths and adults.
The
PIESUP has four major components: (1) the scholarship program;
(2) the manpower development program -- in collaboration
with the National Manpower and Youth Council, which provides
short-term vocational and technical courses for out-of-school
youths and adults; (3) the pre-schoolers’ program,
which employs the Montessori system; and (4) the advanced
learning program for elementary and high school honor pupils
to increase their competitiveness relative to their private
or urban-educated counterparts.
Presently,
the PIESUP has 1,127 beneficiaries. 72% of these are under
the manpower development program, 11% are under the scholarship
program, 8% under the pre-schoolers’ program, and
9% under the advanced learning program.
Significant
in the program’s success is the inculcation at the
community level of the importance of education as a tool
for self and social advancement.
