The study was conducted to determine the status of cooperative education among the Department of Agrarian Reform assisted cooperatives in Cagayan. The respondents are the officers from the cooperatives assisted by the Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office. The descriptive-qualitative research design was used accompanied with personal interviews and focal group discussions. The data were obtained from the respondents and records of the Department of Agrarian Reform. The study revealed that most of the cooperatives are multi-purpose cooperatives. Majority of the respondents are the Agrarian Reform beneficiaries with a mean age of 44. Forty percent are college graduates and only a few have reached elementary level. The cooperative officers’ participation to the mandated training curricula comprised of 33 percent board of directors and the least participant comes from the education committee. All target groups for each trainings were represented but with no perfect attendance. The respondents finished the mandatory trainings with an average cost of P1,200 per day per participant per training. The most pressing problem encountered in the conduct of the trainings is the language used in the delivery of lectures. Other problems encountered were financial difficulty among participants, venue not conducive to learning, the participants willingness. The least problem met is the accessibility of the training venue to the participants. The study revealed the adherence of the cooperatives to the mandated training curricula and the fifth cooperative principle and DAR assistance.
Education, training, cooperatives, cooperative principle, agrarian
