Gaano kalala ang naging learning loss sa Pilipinas nitong pandemic? | Need To Know

Summary

The video script highlights the alarming state of education in the Philippines, where 70% of 10-year-olds cannot read at their age-appropriate level. The pandemic worsened the learning crisis, with the Philippines having one of the highest rates of 'learning poverty' in East Asia and the Pacific. Various challenges like underfunded schools, lack of resources, teacher shortages, and external factors such as poverty and calamities exacerbate the problem. Efforts, such as reading programs and the Basic Education Development Plan 2030, aim to address these gaps and improve education quality, but significant work remains.

Takeaways

• 📚 Many Filipino 10-year-olds struggle with reading, with learning poverty rising from 57% pre-pandemic to 70% due to the pandemic.
• 🌍 The Philippines has one of the highest learning poverty rates in East Asia and the Pacific, with 9 out of 10 Filipino children unable to read simple words at age 10.
• 🏫 The education system in the Philippines is overwhelmed by past and current challenges, including pandemic-related disruptions and lack of infrastructure in schools.
• 📉 The pandemic further worsened existing learning poverty, with school closures, limited access to reading materials, and lack of proper guidance affecting learning outcomes.
• 👩‍🏫 Teachers are struggling with insufficient training and resources, and many teach subjects outside their area of expertise, impacting the quality of education.
• 💡 The Department of Education (DepEd) is implementing recovery programs like Brigada Eskwela Plus, with after-school reading programs to help struggling students.
• 🎓 There is a significant gap in education spending compared to neighboring countries, despite the increase in education budget to 7.5% of GDP by 2019.
• 🛠️ DepEd aims to hire more teachers and is requesting a larger budget for building and repairing classrooms to address capacity issues.
• 📖 The Philippines' Basic Education Development Plan 2030 focuses on improving the quality of education through targeted interventions and addressing learning poverty.
• 🔄 A framework called RAPID (recommended by international organizations) is being adopted to address the worsening state of learning poverty and improve standards over the next six years.

Q & A

What is learning poverty, as described in the transcript?

Learning poverty refers to the inability of a 10-year-old child to read and understand age-appropriate text. It is used as an indicator to measure the schooling and learning levels of children globally.

What are the current global rates of learning poverty according to the report?

According to the joint report by UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank, 70% of 10-year-old children worldwide cannot read at the appropriate level. This has increased from 57% before the COVID-19 pandemic.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected learning poverty in the Philippines?

The pandemic worsened learning poverty in the Philippines, with 9 out of 10 Filipino children aged 10 still struggling to read even simple words, making the country one of the hardest hit in East Asia and the Pacific region.

What are some of the challenges faced by the Philippine education system mentioned in the transcript?

The Philippine education system is overwhelmed by backlogs from the past, such as schools lacking electricity and basic facilities, along with the added challenges brought by the pandemic, like learning gaps due to school closures.

What is the Brigada Eskwela Plus program and how does it aim to address learning poverty?

Brigada Eskwela Plus is a program that includes a reading initiative where extra reading lessons are provided to students after school, aiming to improve literacy among children, particularly those struggling with reading.

How have school closures during the pandemic affected students in the Philippines?

The closure of 425 private schools since 2020 affected over 20,000 students, half of whom are now adding to the already existing capacity issues in public schools, such as the lack of classrooms.

What is the status of education spending in the Philippines relative to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region?

Despite education spending increasing to 7.5% of GDP by 2019, the Philippines still lags behind neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which is a contributing factor to the country's learning crisis.

What are some non-academic factors that affect children's learning in the Philippines?

Non-academic factors include poor nutrition, family problems, financial difficulties, and inadequate care, all of which impact children's ability to learn effectively in school.

What solutions does the transcript suggest to improve the learning crisis in the Philippines?

The transcript suggests starting interventions early, improving teacher training, recruiting more teachers, providing appropriate learning materials, addressing students' psychosocial needs, and implementing catch-up programs for those who have fallen behind.

What long-term plan does the Department of Education have to address the learning crisis?

The Department of Education is implementing the Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) 2030, which focuses on four key pillars to improve the quality of education over the coming years, building on the RAPID framework to reduce learning poverty.