Program launched to educate students on consumerism

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Education (DepEd) have launched a program to teach students how to be vigilant consumers.

DTI Undersecretary for consumer welfare Zenaida Cuison Maglaya said the department has decided to include principles of product quality and safety in the program.

"We want to offer consumers the opportunity to learn about product standards starting at a young age so they can carry these lessons as they mature and, at the same time, help influence their families and communities against buying substandard goods," Maglaya said.

The necessary modules and lesson plans on standards have finally been deliberated, edited and finalized for printing during the second Writeshop held in March by the DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS), in collaboration with DepEd’s Bureaus of Alternative Learning System and Secondary Education, and with assistance from the Philippine Product Safety and Quality Foundation (PPSQF).

These lessons are directed toward high school students and "mobile learners" composed of out-of-school youth, adults who are unable to avail of formal education, or individuals with special needs.

According to Maglaya, the DTI has been pushing for this program because it is important to mold the youth to become vigilant consumers conscious about the quality and safety of the products in their homes and in the market.

"By raising the level of consumer awareness, we can eventually achieve a more empowered consumer society," she stressed.

The trainers’ training program for the teachers and mobile instructors is set from April to May, while the final copies of the modules and lesson plans on standards are expected to be printed and disseminated before the start of the school year.

By the third quarter of the year the DTI, DepEd and PPSQF shall monitor the use of these modules and lesson plans on standards to further assess the effectiveness of the teaching materials.