VICE President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte urged school officials in Pikit, North Cotabato to address the alarming decrease in learner attendance after a gun attack that resulted in the death of a student.

On February 14, a gun attack at the Pikit National High School (PNHS) killed a 13-year-old boy and injured two others.

Duterte met on Monday with PNHS principal Abdulkadir Buda, who told her that the killing of the student led to a decline in attendance.Buda said that school attendance dropped to at least 65 percent since the attack.

Duterte, together with Department of Education Undersecretary Revsee Escobedo, tasked school officials to implement the alternative delivery mode (ADM) or remote learning for children who are scared to go to school.

'Ang trabaho natin is lahat ng mga takot, patuloy pa rin silang mag-aral sa bahay. So dapat hanapin ninyo 'yan sila lahat. Sabihan sila mag-ADM sila (Our job is to convince those who are scared to go back to school to continue to study at home, you have to find them and tell them to do ADM),' she said.

Duterte was also briefed on other issues that contributed to the alarming dropout rate of learners, including teenage pregnancy and poverty.

She also visited the neighboring Pikit Central Elementary School, where she emphasized the importance of education and hard work as vehicles for achieving their dreams in life.

Duterte also introduced the PagbaBaGo program in the two schools, an advocacy campaign that centers on the importance of education in breaking the cycle of poverty and underscoring the significance of responsible parenthood to ensure that children's basic needs like education are met.