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ONCE one of Asia’s best in education, the Philippines has lagged behind its neighbors. The ranking of our universities has slipped. Our students have gotten very low scores in regional assessments on reading, science and mathematics. And the shocker was last week’s report on the high number of functionally illiterate Filipinos, from teenagers to old people.
Is there an Rx for all these ills?
The World Bank has identified easily achievable solutions for the Philippines to increase literacy and educational outcomes, such as improving teaching quality and using technology.
“The World Bank has been putting a lot of emphasis on teaching qualification and that they are able to teach, so that is one aspect that actually could be focused very quickly on,” Zafer Mustafaoğlu, World Bank country director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, told a seminar in Quezon City last Wednesday.
He said positive outcomes can be generated relatively quickly, compared with “thinking about the whole education schooling years, that will take long to change the society.”
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“When we look at international experience, one key fundamental factor is the culture of teaching and the qualities of teachers and the overall teaching profession,” Mustafaoğlu said. “That’s why we are focusing on that one.”
The World Bank official said this should be thought of as part of a broader conducive environment and not as a single measure.
“In that context, we have to look at the overall teaching system and teaching methods. Again, one important part is the classroom sizes, the continuity of schooling days, and in that context, the students’ ability to continue,” he said, adding that international experience shows this to be “very critical.”
Use of technology
Mustafaoğlu also called for more focus on the use of technology to enhance teaching methods.
He pointed out the need to increase the resilience of schools so that school day losses are reduced in the Philippines, which is very much exposed to disasters, risks, climate change and heat.
“We’ve been working a lot on this climate resilience in the Philippines. We have several projects to improve resilience in the country. We’ve just started a new project program on safer schools, and this is being implemented by the Department of Education and the Department of Public Works and Highway,” he added.
Mustafaoğlu, however, said it is possible to compensate for the loss from school closure through access to digital learning.
“For example, if there is a closure for a heat reason, students can continue. So, we have several projects actually focused on this resilience agenda to improve the resilience and then eliminate or reduce the potential losses. And then, we can compensate with other methods,” he said.
Functional literacy
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) last month released the results of a survey it conducted in 2024 showing the functional literacy rate in the country in 2024 was at 70.8 percent. This means that about 7 out of 10 individuals ages 10 to 64 years can read, write, compute and comprehend. This translates to 60.17 million Filipinos out of around 85 million in the same age group.
Among those 5 years old and above, 6.9 percent, or about 7 out of 100 individuals, cannot read and write or are classified as illiterate, it added.
The PSA’s findings also showed about 21 percent of senior high school graduates are considered functional illiterates.
The situation is bleak but not hopeless. Education Secretary Sonny Angara has lined up a series of interventions: the revamp of the K-12 program as well as the construction of last-mile schools, buildings in far-flung areas where literacy levels are low. There is also an ongoing school feeding program that consists of arroz caldo with eggs, bread, vegetables and other nutritious fare for public elementary school students.
At the collegiate level, the Commission on Higher Education has rolled out scholarships for doctors and nurses, as well as for radiologic technicians and pharmacists. Students in state colleges and universities are also paid to tutor kids who cannot read in the public elementary schools.
But certainly, more needs to be done — and fast.
Reform agenda
Speaking of good foreign intervention, analysts from Japan’s Nomura Global Markets Research said that the results of the May 12 midterm elections could influence the government’s reform agenda. This could very well be in the monetary and fiscal policies.
“On policy implications, it could become more difficult for the government to push unpopular fiscal reforms, as we have started to see,” a Nomura report by analysts Ruden Paracuelles and Nabila Amami said.
They added, however, that “infrastructure implementation and supply side measures to keep inflation low will likely remain the government’s focus. We reiterate our forecast for Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to cut rates by an additional 75 basis points this year, taking the policy rate to a below-neutral 4.75 percent,” the report said.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.’s chief economist, Michael Ricafort, said that “the generally peaceful midterm elections partly led to increased market confidence. Treasury bill auction yields slightly eased after the generally peaceful election results. This points to lower borrowing costs for the government.”
“Reforms such as economic, fiscal and other reforms that improve the conduciveness of the country’s environment for more business activities, investments and other economic opportunities are needed,” he said. “These reforms support long-term economic growth and development that is more inclusive and lifts more people from poverty.”
On the ground, the continuation of the P20-per-kilogram rice in Kadiwa stores nationwide and the rollout of the Bukas Centers that give free medical aid (including free cataract operation) augur well for more help for the poor.
We just hope that the newly elected senators and congressmen, as well as the leaders in the provinces, cities and towns, will have a more focused social-development bent. The Gen Z voters are there, watchful and ever ready with their smartphones, to capture words and images coming from the newly elected. And they are ready, willing and able again to form chat groups in Signal, Telegram and Viber, as well as post in Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, about the accomplishments of the elected — as well as their shenanigans.
So, better watch out, guys. The next election may seem three years away, but three years is just a blip in the political life of the nation.
Danton Remoto’s novels include “Riverrun” and “Boys’ Love,” and short story collection, “The Heart of Summer,” all published by Penguin SEA and on sale at Fully Booked Online.
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