United Nations agencies expressed their full support for quality and inclusive education in the Philippines as classes commenced this week. During a press briefing in Makati City, UNICEF education chief Akihiro Fushimi highlighted that millions of Filipino children, particularly those from vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas, still lack access to quality education and learning opportunities. “We are here as a UN body to contribute to the goal of the Philippine government and community to achieve quality education,” he stated.
This support is part of a week-long communications campaign by UN Philippines coinciding with the back-to-school season. UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN Population Fund are actively involved in various regions, assisting the Philippine government with programs such as alternative learning systems, school meals initiatives, comprehensive sexuality education, and refugee education.
Fushimi noted a “big momentum” in education support among stakeholders in the country and praised the Philippine adoption of the K-to-12 education system as a positive step. “As early as three to four years before (children) enter kindergarten, we have to invest in their health, nutrition, and education,” he emphasized.
However, he pointed out that the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian nations, is facing a “learning crisis” characterized by poor learning outcomes. He reported that 90 percent of Grade 5 children in the region cannot read at their expected level, and 83 percent struggle with basic mathematics. “That’s a really serious and widespread, real learning crisis, and that was before Covid-19. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippines experienced a two-year-long school closure,” he added.
UNICEF estimates that by Grade 4, children in the Philippines possess reading and mathematics skills at around Grade 2 levels, indicating a two-year lag, which is even more pronounced in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
WFP deputy country director Dipayan Bhattacharyya attributed the learning crisis to factors such as poverty and malnutrition. He affirmed WFP’s commitment to supporting the Philippines in achieving universal school meals coverage by 2030. “If you look into the way the current school feeding program in the Philippines is designed, it addresses just one element of malnutrition, which is wasting,” he noted.
Bhattacharyya advocated for a universal school feeding program, which would require funding and sustainable financial models. He recommended amending Republic Act 11037, the Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino (Nutritious Food for Filipino Children) Act, to facilitate this transition. “The targeting approach is basically determined by that republic act, so we are really requesting and advocating the government to revisit this and amend it so that we can really move gradually towards a universal school feeding program,” he said.