Republic Act No. 10618

This Act shall be known as the "Rural Farm Schools Act".

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all. Further to this, the State shall establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society and encourage nonformal, informal and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning, independent and out-of-school study programs particularly those that respond to community needs.

The State shall likewise promote sustainable agricultural productivity and rural development by empowering the human capital in the countryside through access to avenues of learning suited to the needs and realities of the rural agricultural communities.

In furtherance of the principles of social justice and social equity, the State shall provide the necessary support to the beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) including, but not limited to, the provision of access to a broad range of educational opportunities to their children.

For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

Rural farm schools are hereby established to provide alternative delivery mode of secondary education. The public rural farm schools shall be free from tuition and other school fees, except those fees which may be allowed by the DepED. Private rural farm schools shall set a minimal tuition and other fees subject to the approval of the DepED: Provided, That the relatives of CARP beneficiaries up to the third degree of consanguinity in the descending line shall be exempt from payment of the fees.

The DepED shall institutionalize high standards of quality assurance in rural farm schools. These standards shall involve prescribing guidelines and policies on the operation and management of rural farm schools as well as basic curricular content to ensure the credibility and academic integrity of rural farm schools.

Within one (1) year upon the formulation of the implementing rules and regulations of this Act, the DepED shall encourage the establishment of at least one (1) public rural farm school in every province in the country.

The DepED, through the Bureau of Secondary Education, shall regulate the organization and operation of the rural farm schools and the implementation of its curriculum as prescribed herein.

The curriculum of the rural farm school shall follow the core secondary education curriculum of the DepED with, add-on courses focused on Agri-Fishery Arts.

The last two (2) academic years in the rural farm school educational system shall focus on integrative learning across all subject disciplines in the curriculum with emphasis on farm entrepreneurship theory and practice and its promotion as a tool in cultivating local entrepreneurs, revitalizing rural economics and repopulating rural communities.

The rural farm schools shall apply a flexible learning philosophy which may include an alternative delivery mode as recognized by the DepED.

Graduates of elementary school education, regardless of age, shall be eligible to enroll in the rural farm schools for their secondary education.

Relatives of CARP beneficiaries up to the third degree of consanguinity in the descending line shall be given priority in admission when the rural farm school cannot accommodate all of those applying for enrollment.

Every rural farm school shall have a school head to oversee its operations and management. The school head shall be tasked to facilitate the tutors participation in professional development activities including technical skills training and extension services by the DepED, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). The school head shall also ensure that the curricular program is properly implemented and sufficient and adequate educational resources are available and accessible to the students.

The tutors of the rural farm school shall be specialists in their fields of endeavor. They shall act as teachers, guidance counselors, rural developers, livelihood project proponents, marketing specialists and/or project consultants. They shall establish a working partnership with the parents by conducting parent-tutor dialogues and parent workshops.

Public rural farm school personnel shall receive a monthly basic salary based on the compensation prescribed under the Salary Standardization Law, as amended, in addition to other benefits prescribed by law.

The DepED, the DAR, the DA, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) shall provide continuous technical skills training and provision of extension materials including, but not limited to, books, student workbooks, teaching session guides and other materials or equipment on the subjects offered, and other extension services to the tutors of rural farm schools.

The DepED shall set the requirements for accreditation of rural farm schools and accredit those that shall meet the prescribed requirements. Rural farm schools may not operate unless accredited by the DepED.

The DepED may withdraw or downgrade the accreditation of a rural farm school if it fails to maintain the standards set for its accreditation.

All accredited private rural farm schools, their mentors or facilitators and students shall be eligible for subsidies under Republic Act No. 6728, as amended by Republic Act No. 8545, or the "Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act".

The DepED shall conduct regular monitoring and evaluation to determine continuing compliance with the requirements on accreditation status of the rural farm schools adhere to the standards of quality assurance prescribed by the DepED.

Any donation, contribution, bequest or grant which may be made to a rural farm school duly accredited under Section 12 of this Act shall be exempt from the donors tax and the same shall be considered as allowable deduction from the gross income in the computation of the income tax of the donor in accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended: Provided, That the rural farm school has likewise been accredited by the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC).

The Secretary of Education shall immediately include in the Departments program the operationalization of the public rural farm schools, the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Within ninety (90) days after the effectivity of this Act, the DepED, in consultation with the DA, the DAR, the TESDA and the ATI, shall formulate the rules and regulations needed for the effective implementation of this Act.

If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.

All laws or parts thereof, decrees, orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Approved,

| (Sgd.) JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA Acting Senate President | (Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR. Speaker of the House of Representatives |