By Efren L. Danao
Senior Reporter
www.manilatimes.netSen. Loren Legarda expressed concern Sunday over the worsening quality of Philippine education, as she warned that this could make the Philippines even less competitive economically.
She cited statistics from the Department of Education showing that 56.76 percent of elementary enrollees in school year 2005-2006 completed elementary school, down from 58.36 percent four years ago. The completion rate in high school also declined, from 54.14 percent to 59.1 percent.
“The deteriorating quality of education can also be shown by international standards,” she said. “In the 2003 Third International Mathematics and Science Study participated by 45 countries, the Philippines was ranked 41st in mathematics and 42nd in science. The country trailed other Asian nations, including Malaysia and Indonesia.”
Legarda, chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, said that although the Department of Education will get P13.9 billion and an additional P2 billion for the school-building program, this amount is still inadequate to bring about much needed educational reforms.
The allocation for the education sector is less than 3 percent of the gross national product, much less than the 6 percent prescribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). This inadequate investment in education is seen as the reason why some 11.2 million Filipinos are illiterate.
The P2 billion allocated for the construction of 3,636 classrooms in 2008 is just 1.72 percent of the national government’s infrastructure program total of P115.959 billion. The Education department has estimated the backlog of classrooms to cost P13.9 billion.
“The budget should provide the necessary resources to bring about much-needed reforms. The budget for basic education should be increased by P6 billion,” she said.
She said that besides building more schools, the education sector needs more funds to hire more teachers and to buy more desks, tables, books and other supplies; fund more alternative learning programs, school health and nutrition programs and boost teachers’ benefits under the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.
“If the problems of education are not addressed in time, the Philippines will most likely miss its target of achieving universal primary education in 2015,” she warned.
