Ask any typical 10-year-old public school student in the Philippines to read and comprehend a simple paragraph, and it’s likely that 9 out of 10 of them won’t be able to. This alarming lack of reading comprehension skills among students places the Philippines among the lowest in terms of educational attainment in East Asia and the Pacific, according to the latest World Bank (WB) report. Shockingly, even with the return of face-to-face classes across the country, the Philippines still has a troubling 91% “learning poverty” rate.
Unfortunately, the country has not made any progress in improving its dismal ranking since the 2022 study, which assessed 22 middle-income countries in the region. The report, conducted after two years of remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reveals that high-income countries like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore have a minuscule 3-4% rate of learning poverty. Vietnam, with its 18% rate, has the lowest among the Southeast Asian countries surveyed.
This unacceptable situation cannot be ignored, especially considering the billions of pesos invested annually in public education. The WB report emphasizes that the failure to equip students with foundational reading skills jeopardizes their ability to develop advanced skills necessary for success in the job market and poverty alleviation. This problem is even more pronounced in poorer communities. The report further states that without the ability to develop advanced skills, these children will never contribute to productivity-boosting economic activities that could elevate the country’s income status.
Given this bleak outlook, the Department of Education (DepEd), responsible for improving the quality of education, needs to address these distressing findings from the WB with urgency and passion. The report provides recommendations, highlighting the crucial role teachers play in reversing the trend of poor learning outcomes. The WB emphasizes that while various factors impact learning, such as family income, health, and access to school materials, teachers have the greatest influence once a child enters school. Unfortunately, the quality of public school teachers in the Philippines is subpar. A study conducted in 2016 revealed that the average elementary or high school teacher in the Philippines had below-average mastery of the subject they teach.
Furthermore, the WB found that in the Philippines, 40.1% of Grade 5 teachers were often or sometimes absent, and almost 70% were often or sometimes late. With the sizable resources allocated to DepEd, it must take the lead in addressing these red flags. However, it will require more than just removing visual aids in classrooms or downplaying the impact of low enrollment numbers for the current school year. Instead, DepEd should implement the recommendations outlined in the comprehensive report to enhance teaching quality and improve learning outcomes for students in desperate need of support. The WB suggests that teacher trainings should focus on bolstering subject knowledge, providing opportunities for peer practice and mentorship, and offering career incentives tied to promotion or salary. Teachers should be rewarded for maintaining the quality of their teaching throughout their careers.
To enact these significant reforms, there must first be an acknowledgment of the extent of the learning crisis. Policymakers and government officials often underestimate the problems in basic education, hindering urgent reform efforts and misallocating funds. With the grim data now in the hands of Philippine policymakers and officials, it is imperative that they rise to the challenge and implement real reforms to improve the quality of education. The future of the country depends on it.
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