A LITTLE HELP GOES A LONG WAY: SUSTAINING

CHILDREN OF POVERTY THROUGH SCHOOL*

(Action Research in a state college in Bicol)

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN TEACHER EDUCATION 2017, At UNIVERSITY OF THE
PHILIPPINES DILIMAN QUEZON CITY THE PHILIPPINES

Abstract

The “conditional cash transfer” (CCT) is a form of economic support to poor

families that is considered an important and effective strategy in combating poverty.
One form of direct support is provided for families who have school-age children with
the condition that they meet specified commitments aimed to improving their capacities
(Cecchini, 2011). CCT programs aim to arrest inter-generational cycle of poverty by
promoting human capital accumulation among the young through basic education. The
redistribution of financial resources among the poor is expected to lead to higher
welfare gains, thereby minimizing the incidence and number of families living in
poverty across generations, from parents to children and to grandchildren.
In the Philippines, the CCT, also known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program (or “4P’s”), is one of the government’s interventions in attaining the
Millennium Development Goals of eradicating poverty, achieving universal primary
education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality and improving
maternal health. One of the many forms of the 4Ps is the Expanded Students Grant – in-
Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) for post-secondary students.
Implemented first in 2012, this specific assistance program has already expanded from
4,041 to 36,412 grantees in academic year 2014-2015.
The paper explores the experiences of grantees of the Expanded Students Grant –
In – Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) in one of the state colleges in Bicol.
It describes the specific types of financial and psychological assistance that recipients
were provided.
It also identifies the effects of the program on recipients. Twelve (n = 12) students
of a state college in Region 5 (Bicol region) were purposively selected from the roster of
program recipients, ensuring “maximun variation” in terms of their years in the
program, family background, degree courses, and residences.
Interviews with students were recorded electronically and transcribed verbatim
to derive themes. Students enumerated the benefits they received through the program
in terms of financial help and activities they participated in as program recipients such
as psycho-social seminars, and what they learned from these seminars. They also
described the effects of the program on them and their families, and the positive and
negative aspects of the grant.