He is known by his classmates as “Kuya Jay”, but unlike other Grade 1 students, Jay Caliboso is an old man.
The 40-year-old Caliboso, who towers over his classmates and can hardly fit in the small wooden chairs in the classroom, stood out when classes opened at the Amarosa Elementary School in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. Caliboso is not just many years older than his classmates. He is also a a polio survivor, and has a crippled foot.
But more than the physical traits that distinguish him from the rest of his classmates, Caliboso is set apart because of his determination to learn.
“Despite his age, we know he has the will to learn,” Joel Remigio, School Principal, stated in this Inquirer article by Leilanie Adriano sharing Caliboso’s story. Remigio also encouraged the other students to be inspired by Caliboso’s determination. Details of Adriano’s article are as follows.
According to Remigio, this is the first time that the school has had an adult as a student.
Read on to find out why Remigio decided to get an education so late in life
A simple farmer
Caliboso is the caretaker of his cousin’s farm in Barangay Mangato B, where he grows vegetables to sell in the local market. His cousin, who is based in Hawaii, as well as other Hawaii-based relatives, are sponsoring Caliboso’s education.
Caliboso’s lack of education, however, has made business difficult for him as he struggles to do simple mathematical and business procedures. For instance, he has difficulty reading the weighing scale, so he sells his vegetables by bundles instead.
He also has a problem reading numbers, and so finds it hard to distinguish paper money. Caliboso then sells all his vegetables at Php 20 or Php 50–the paper bills he is most familiar with.
Caliboso, who was orphaned at a very young age, is a native of Abulug, Cagayan.
Caliboso is now officially one of the 25 million Filipino students currently enrolled in the country’s public school system. And when he is ready, Caliboso can take the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) under the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Accreditation and Equivalency Program, which aims to give out-of-school-youth a chance to get an education.
Examinees who pass the PEPT are accelerated to another level, depending on their aptitudes.
Under the program is part of a bigger initiative, “Education for All”.
Indeed, Caliboso has proven that education is for all–no matter your age.
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