MANILA, Philippines -- A youth activist group blamed dropping enrollment rates on what it called the ?ridiculously? education low budget, saying the government should increase the allocation to prevent school officials from charging ?unnecessary fees.?

In a statement on Tuesday, League of Filipino Students (LFS) national president Vencer Crisostomo said the government?s spending for education has been ?consistently on the drop?the reason why various fees are being collected in schools despite the government policy prohibiting such.?

The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said on Monday that one in six school-age children are deprived of education while the enrollment rate went down to 83 percent in the 2006-2007school year.

Crisostomo said the P138-billion education budget would only be good for P12 a day for every student.

The LFS president also said the budget for education has dropped from 17.4 percent in 2001 to only 12 percent in 2008.

?The Arroyo government has been ignoring the education sector since it came to power in 2001. It is no surprise that many students who are now feeling the brunt are joining protests and walking out from their classes against this government,? said Crisostomo.

The group is expected to hold a nationwide campus walk-out on Friday, July 18, which will be participated by out-of-school youths.