QuestionsQuestions (DECS ORDER NO. 109, S. 1999)
The Youth Entrepreneurship and Cooperatives in Schools (YECS) Program is a DECS initiative to build entrepreneurship and cooperatives foundations at the secondary level. It was launched by DECS (through the Center for Students and Co-Curricular Affairs and in coordination with the Bureau of Secondary Education) with the involvement of Office of Youth Sector Representative Anna Marie Periquet, partnering with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Cooperatives Development Authority (CDA), and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
The expansion aims to provide students with options in response to difficulties in pursuing higher education or finding decent jobs, by equipping them with entrepreneurship and cooperatives skills that can lead to livelihood opportunities and support for tertiary education.
The order states that YECS is handled by DECS through the Center for Students and Co-Curricular Affairs (CSCA) and coordinated with the Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE).
It cites the “pro-poor agenda” of then President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
Each DECS Regional Office is enjoined to expand YECS coverage to include at least one (1) secondary school per division every year.
They must implement it in accordance with the Revised YECS Concept Paper and the Implementing Rules and Regulations contained in the enclosures (Inclosures A and B) of the order.
All Regional Offices must submit a Five-Year Expansion Plan (1999–2004) according to specifications by the YECS Technical Working Group, as contained in Inclosure C.
Designated YECS Regional Coordinators are encouraged to coordinate closely with the partner agencies to initiate implementation of the order down to the school level.
Designated YECS School-Based Moderators and Alternates, and other personnel under the expansion plan, must undergo intensive training on cooperativism and entrepreneurship to guide program implementors.
While partner agencies are expected to provide technical and other forms of assistance, the expenses for training are chargeable against the concerned Regional/Division Office, local funds, and the School Board fund, with support from funds allocated for student and co-curricular activities in the Office of the Secretary under Special Provisions of the DECS budget in the General Appropriations Act, subject to availability and usual accounting rules and regulations.
It means that the use of budgetary funds for training is limited by whether such funds are actually available, and it must comply with standard government accounting and auditing rules.
They are referenced as containing (A) the Revised YECS Concept Paper, (B) the Implementing Rules and Regulations, and (C) the specifications for the five-year expansion plan submitted by Regional Offices.
The order primarily enjoins DECS Regional Offices and directs DECS-designated coordinators and moderators to implement the program and undergo training. While it filters obligations down to the school level by implementation, the explicit obligations in the order are directed to DECS offices and designated program personnel.
It asserts that with a good foundation in entrepreneurship and cooperatives at the secondary level, youth can become creative and productive citizens capable of establishing their own livelihood sources and eventually supporting their own tertiary education.
The order was adopted on October 7, 1999, and it expands a program originally launched in April 1997.
It signals the administrative intent that DECS offices and stakeholders should promptly be informed so implementation, training, planning, and coordination can begin or proceed without delay.