Future of RP education bleak, UN goals unmet as deadline nears

Armed conflict, poverty, nutrition

In the past three years, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has the least number of students able to make it to the sixth grade, and also the least number of students who get to complete their elementary education.

Metro Manila, the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and CALABARZON posted the best numbers in terms of participation and cohort survival rates.

Prof. Leonor Briones of Social Watch Philippines says the armed conflict in Mindanao has directly affected access to education.

“Kung peaceful, makakapag-aral ang mga bata," says Briones. “Kung hindi peaceful ang lugar, hindi makakapag-aral ang mga bata. Mayroong correlation, not only with education but also with health and all the other MDG goals. "

In 2006, the UNICEF commissioned a study to look into the possible effects of armed conflict to children, women and communities in the countryside. Findings show that children in conflict areas in Mindanao stopped going to school when they left their homes to escape the fights between the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The study cited other reasons such as the distance of the schools from homes, lack of money, and the need for children to work to support their families.

Former DepEd undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz says getting children enrolled in elementary school is not really the problem; the high dropout rate is.



MDG monitoring notes that dropout rates at the elementary level has been increasing from 2001 to 2005.

Luz explains that children tend to drop out of school within grades one to four.

“If you want to manage them properly, we need to keep them in school up to grade 4. So what you need to do for grades 1, 2 and 3 is ‘in-school feeding’," he says.

Poverty and poor nutrition are what’s taking children away from school, Luz says. He explains that one in every three school-age children is malnourished.

In nine regions with high prevalence of underweight children, eight posted low probability of meeting the MDG target for education. These regions include Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Mimaropa, CARAGA, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, SOCCSKSARGEN and Northern Mindanao.

Region	Prevalance of underweight school-age children 2003	Probability of achieving the MDG goal in education
Bicol	36.1	Low
E. Visayas	35	Low
Mimaropa	32.2	Low
CARAGA	31.7	Low
W. Visayas	30.8	Low
Zamboanga Peninsula	29.9	Low
SOCCSKSARGEN	29.7	Low
Ilocos Region	28.8	High
N. Mindanao	26.7	Low
C. Visayas	25
ARMM	23.7
Calabarzon	22.5	Low
Davao	22.3	Low
CAR	21.7	Low
Cagayan Valley	19.5
Central Luzon	17.7	Low
NCR	15.7

SOURCE: National Nutrition Survey, 2003: FNRI and NSCB

Poverty incidence data also shows most of the poorer regions register low probability of achieving the MDG in education. These regions are Caraga, Zamboanga Peninsula, Bicol, MIMAROPA, Northern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, Soccsksargen, Western Visayas, Davao and CAR -- all with poverty incidence higher than the national average.

REGION	Poverty Incidence	Probability of achieving Goal 2
Caraga	47.3	Low
Muslim Mindanao	45.7
Zamboanga Peninsula	44.1	Low
Bicol Region	40.5	Low
MIMAROPA	39.7	Low
Northern Mindanao	37.9	Low
Eastern Visayas	35.5	Low
SOCCSKSARGEN	32.0	Low
Western Visayas	31.3	Low
Davao Region	28.1	Low
Cordillera Administrative	24.8	Low
Ilocos Region	24.4	High
Central Visayas	23.7
Cagayan Valley	19.3
CALABARZON	14.9	Low
Central Luzon	13.7	Low
National Capital Region	5.0

SOURCE: Poverty incidence, 2003: NSCB and Philippines Midterm Progress Report on the MDGs, 2007

The relationship between poverty and education is clearly noted by the MDG monitoring in the NEDA report: “It is interesting to note that participation rates in primary education by region is inversely correlated with the incidence rates for food and overall poverty."

Budgeting for education

Financing the MDGs is crucial, says Prof. Briones.

“Do you know Alice in wonderland? Alice in Wonderland, she just keeps on running just to stay in the same place. Now, that’s the problem of education and health. Even as they keep on running, they just stay in the same place because the demand is getting bigger," she says.

Government estimates in the funding of the MDGs are in the billions of pesos – P2.4 B from 2007-2015, says the CPBD.

NEDA says the biggest funding gap in is on basic education and poverty reduction.

In the Philippines, there is no question that education is a priority. The Constitution clearly states that education must get the biggest share of the budget. In reality, however, debt service takes the biggest chunk.

From 2000 to 2008, the budget for education has been increasing in actual amounts, but its share in the national budget pie has in fact been getting smaller.

In 2000, the budget for education was only 17.12 percent of the national budget; by 2008 this has decreased to 14.82 percent.



The government think tank Congressional Planning and Budget Department notes, “The 2008 education budget was only 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The international standard is 6 percent of GDP."

Also, the budgeting for education does not seem to match the MDG in primary education.

While elementary level gets the lion’s share of the education funds, the data also shows that its share in the total education budget has been decreasing.



“Clearly, underinvestment in basic education coupled with unabated increase in student population and widespread poverty has resulted in dismal educational performance," the CPBD says in its 2008 Analysis of the President’s Budget.

Seven years to the deadline, the Philippines is playing catch up to the MDG deadline. The MDG monitoring report is a mixture of good news and bad news. But NEDA chief Augusto Santos says the good news outweigh the bad.

Unfortunately, the update on the education goal has not been a cause for celebration.

However, both government and critics agree that what is important is the commitment.

“More than reporting how the Philippines has fared in meeting the MDGs, this Report reaffirms the country’s commitment and it’s resolve to pursue affirmative action especially in mobilizing much-needed resources to meet the MDGs," Santos says.

Prof. Briones agrees. “Commitment natin yan," she says. “Kailangan naman kumilos ang Pilipinas…every year mino-monitor, kinu-compare ang Pilipinas sa ibang bansa. Ayaw naman ng gobyerno nating magpahuli." --GMANews.TV/GMA News Research