Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion are exploring the possibility of introducing entrepreneurial classes to senior high school students, which could serve as “an alternative path to success.”

Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte meets with Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion to explore the possibility of incorporating entrepreneurship training to support or complement the Senior High School curriculum. Joining Concepcion at the meeting last Oct. 17, 2023 were Go Negosyo’s senior advisers. (Photo from Concepcion’s office)

In a statement, Concepcion shared that he met with the Vice President on Oct. 17 to discuss several avenues in which entrepreneurship skills can be included in the school curriculum.

Among these avenues are direct mentoring by veteran entrepreneurs and through the help of private companies, specifically those engaged in the agriculture sector.

“Our idea is if we open up this avenue to young people, there would be a way for them to find an alternative path to success,” the Go Negosyo founder and RFM Corp. president said.

“Not all families have the resources to support children through the completion of the entire curriculum. We could help these young people find their path, focus on it, and maybe one day the students can turn it into a business,” he added, stressing that many entrepreneurs managed to succeed even without the benefit of higher education.

Under the current K-12 curriculum, Filipino children in public schools attend for a minimum of 13 years.

If the students decide to pursue higher education, an average of four more years would be added to the initial 13 years.

Duterte welcomed the initiatives of Go Negosyo, stressing DepEd’s need for assistance to improve its agriculture and fisheries schools.

The program can also open ways for DepEd to utilize its idle lands by using them to teach children basic gardening and farming skills.

She also said that entrepreneurship mentoring can become part of co-curricular activities, adding that preparatory activities can begin before the DepEd pilots the enhanced senior high school curriculum next school year.

Preparing the teachers for the possibility of entrepreneurship mentoring was also discussed, the statement from Go Negosyo said.

The mentoring program would be similar to the one already being implemented by Go Negosyo, which is already a proven method for active and aspiring entrepreneurs all over the country.

The program conducts roadshows in which a successful entrepreneur is sent to mentor the students at their respective schools.

It also allows students to observe actual mentoring with active and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Over the years, Go Negosyo has employed different methods—plenary events, thematic events, and social media and conferencing platforms—of reaching out to potential entrepreneurs, which included women, the youth, and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, the organization used digital technology to continue mentoring entrepreneurs in the provinces and even across the Southeast Asian region.

Concepcion said entrepreneurship training for senior high school students would be timely.

“We want to inspire the students to become entrepreneurs because we now have a more conducive environment, thanks to how social media and digital technology are bringing down so many barriers to entrepreneurship and making it more inclusive,” he added.