"Fixing the foundations" of PH education system critical to overcoming learning crisis - EDCOM Year Two Report
January 27, 2025
"Fixing the foundations" of PH education system critical to overcoming learning crisis - EDCOM Year Two Report
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) unveiled its findings for its second year on January 27, 2025 as it published its Year Two Report, "Fixing the Foundations".
The report builds upon the critical issues identified in the EDCOM Year One Report, "Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education", emphasizing urgent reform needs across the Philippine education system, which are essential to ensure the future success and stability of Filipino learners.
"As the country's demographic window closes within a generation by 2045, the next two decades will be critical in shaping our future as a country: if we will move resolutely to address these learning gaps and thereby improve the life chances of our people, or if we will allow our learning crisis to persist, resulting in a vicious cycle of lack of opportunity and poverty," explained EDCOM Executive Director, Dr. Karol Mark Yee. "Fixing the foundations of education is thus not only a social development, but also, an economic imperative," he continued.
EDCOM 2's Year Two report draws from a compilation of 97 research studies and insights gained from 45 consultations, school visits, and public hearings throughout 2024. It presents a comprehensive overview of the profound educational challenges from early childhood to higher education and lifelong learning.
In early childhood, the Report finds that only 25% of Filipino children receive the recommended energy intake in the first 1,000 days, reflecting a severe nutritional deficit that can impact cognitive and physical development. This has led to 1 in 4 Filipino children under age 5 being stunted, despite laws since 2017, such as RA 11148 or the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act, meant to address it.
In basic education, a forthcoming UNICEF study finds that most Grade 3 students are 1-2 years behind curriculum expectations -- or Grade 3 having Grade 1 level competencies in reading and math.. Meanwhile, the continued lack of textbooks in public schools -- with only 35 out of 94 titles being fully delivered by January 2025--is indicative of deeper logistical and administrative issues within the Department of Education (DepEd) that require urgent attention.
The frequent disruptions caused by natural disasters further exacerbate these educational challenges, with schools in the Cordillera Administrative Region losing 48% of all school days last year due to frequent typhoons and suspensions, underscore the vulnerability of schools, and the profound learning losses students continue to suffer."
"We call on our colleagues and the DepEd leadership to address this concern with utmost urgency. Mr. Speaker, colleagues, any working education system requires that we have robust pathways not just in formal education, but also in non-formal and informal ones. We need to make sure that we are not leaving any learner behind," said EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo in his privilege speech.
Higher education also faces significant hurdles, with high dropout rates, especially in regions like BARMM, where only 1 in 10 students graduate from college. The substantial reductions in tertiary education subsidies under RA 10931 also threaten to exclude the poorest students from higher education opportunities, limiting their potential for future employment and economic mobility.
EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Rep. Mark Go further reiterates, "The current participation rate in higher education in the Philippines stands at 34.89%. While this number is a step forward, it falls significantly short of the ASEAN average of 41.10. THis gap is a clear signal that we must do more to make higher ed accessible and inclusive for our youth especially those from the marginalized communities."
EDCOM 2 Commissioner Rep. Jude Acidre also reflected on the urgency of addressing these long-standing issues: "These challenges are not new to us. Many of us have seen them first, familiar communities, but now is a time to go beyond safety recognition. Recognizing these issues now is a paragraph to fix what they succeed and to ensure that every Philippine holder has a fair chance to succeed. The report gives us a road map, a clear path to strengthen the conditions of our educational system."
"As EDCOM begins its third and final year, we will complete our mandate and deliver to Congress by the end of this year, a national education and workforce development plan putting in place a clear blueprint for long-term sustained reform, that details targets, priorities, as well as budgetary, and policy needs, to once and for all avert our learning crisis," said Romulo, concluding his speech.
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EDCOM 2 is the Congressional body created through Republic Act 11899, tasked to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector, from 2023 to 2025.
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