2019
This is an Awardee of the Government Best Practice Recognition Awards
Title
Students Today, Road Users Tomorrow (STRUT) Program
Organization
Land Transportation Office (LTO) Bicol
Best practice Focus Area(s)
Strategic planning and deployment, Customer and citizen focus, Human Resource
Summary
The LTO Bicol initiated the Students Today, Road Users Tomorrow, or STRUT Program- a school-based road safety awareness program that benefits over 27 million K-12 students in the entire nation. STRUT is an initiative that ensures public safety through proper education and information dissemination. Instead of the traditional seminars during driver’s license applications, the agency created a program targeting schools so that students are taught transportation-related rules and regulations. The integration of road safety education in the educational curriculum seeks to put in place or integrate precautionary measures to promote road safety through modules into the basic education program.
Background and Problem
STRUT’s mission is to establish a sustainable reduction of road deaths and injuries, particularly those involving the youth. The STRUT program objectives are to; (1) engage students and the youth in conversations about road safety and responsible road conduct; (2) share the ownership of road safety with the youth sector- the future users of the country, (3) provide a forum that will win wider adherence for LTO’s thrusts and programs, and (4) continuously teach road safety in the nation’s educational curriculum.
The latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that 27 Filipinos die from road crashes every day. WHO furthers that every year, road traffic deaths in the world come up to 1.25 million, with the highest road traffic fatality rates in low-income countries like the Philippines. Through STRUT, the LTO Bicol seeks to help reduce road crash-related deaths and injuries in the region and the entire country.
Solution and Impact
The STRUT Program seeks to educate the youth about land transportation laws and road safety education while they are young so that being responsible road users become inculcated in their behavior and personality.
Having been integrated into the K-12 curriculum, the STRUT Program will be taught to students as young as four years old. The office began by crafting lessons and discussions that were easily understood by young students. LTO Bicol doubled down on simplified lessons that encouraged a fluid exchange between the youth and the LTO Officers.
After the content of the program has been identified, the office focused on training LTO Officers and Enforcers to speak in front of students, the youth, and the locals about road safety education. From the fearful “Buwaya sa Kalsada,” LTO Bicol enforcers were transformed as “Mga Kaibigan sa Paaralan.” The program gained traction in the following years by expanding its reach to not only students but also to out-of-school youths. The office also established partnerships and linkages with other government and non-government organizations to better promote and teach the program to larger and wider audiences.
Among the immediate results of the STRUT Program was its integration into the K-12 curriculum through contextualized road safety modules created by the LTO Bicol and the Department of Education – Camarines Sur. The modules are presently being taught across all levels of the K-12 Curriculum, as evidenced by innovations in teaching by educators from all over the region. The contextualized modules and the integration of the program into the K-12 curriculum ensures the continuity of the program by giving educators the ability to accurately teach land transportation laws without the presence of the LTO. It also ensures that the program will consistently be taught regardless of the reassignment of LTO Bicol Officers or a change in administration.
Milestones
The STRUT Program gains momentum through its continuous implementation and promotions. The continued development of STRUT is attributed to its integration into the K-12 Curriculum. Shortly after the integration, different regions like Davao and the National Capital Region (NCR) picked up STRUT and implemented it in their respective areas. The LTO Central Office has repeatedly recognized the STRUT Program, naming it as one of the office’s top achievements. The next step under the STRUT program would be its continued implementation in schools all over the nation. LTO Bicol will give incentives to educators who innovate in how they teach STRUT.