MISEDUCATION

The Failed System of Philippine

Education
EDCOM II YEAR ONEThe Failed System of Philippine Educatio
n
REPORT
EDCOM II YEAR ONE REPOR
T MISEDUCATION

MISEDUCATION
The Failed System of Philippine
EducationEDCOM II YEAR ONE REPORT
This report was prepared in 2023
by the Second Congressional
Commission on Education, a national
commission tasked to undertake a
comprehensive national assessment
and evaluation of the performance of the
Philippine education sector. It is composed
of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Senator Francis
Escudero (represented by Senator Aquilino Pimentel
III), Representative Roman Romulo, and Representative
Mark Go as Co-Chairpersons, together with Senator Juan
Edgardo Angara, Senator Pia Cayetano, Senator Joel Villanueva,
Representative Jose Francisco Benitez, Representative Khalid
Dimaporo, and Representative Pablo John Garcia as Commissioners.
This report is published in January 2024 in accordance with EDCOM II’s
mandate to report to Congress its accomplishments on a periodic basis
(RA 11899, Sec. 7(l)).

This report is not to be reproduced or reprinted in any form for commercial purposes; but may be quoted or
reproduced in part for literary or educational research, and for information and advocacy, provided that
appropriate citation is made.

Bibliographic citation:
Second Congressional Commission on Education (2024). Miseducation: The failed system of Philippine
education, EDCOM II year one report. Second Congressional Commission on Education.
Second Congressional Commission on Education. (2024). Miseducation: The failed system of Philippine
education, EDCOM II year one report. Congressional Commission on Education. This report is published
annually in accordance with EDCOM II’s mandate to report to Congress its accomplishments on a periodic basis
(RA 11899, Sec. 7[l]).
This report is not to be reproduced or reprinted in any form for commercial purposes; but may be quoted or
reproduced in part for literary or educational research, and for information and advocacy, provided that
appropriate citation is made.

Editorial Team
Publisher Second Congressional Commission on Education

Address 5th floor, Senate of the Philippines, GSIS Bldg.,

Financial Center, Diokno Blvd., Pasay City 1307

Email address [email protected]

Consultants
Publications Head Ani Rosa Almario, PhD
Art Director R. Jordan P. Santos
Proofreader Emylou V. Infante
Graphic Artists Vanessa L. Pamittan
Rosemarie Grace C. Del Castillo
Benjamin C. Quinajon
Pierre Angelica C. Rañon
Writers Gian Lao
Mikael Co
Photographers Jilson Tiu
George Calvelo
Producer Nica Cellini Catanes

EDCOM II Staff
Communications Officer Luigi C. Conti
Graphic Artist Bettina Medina-Tapalla
Publications Officer Mavreen Jackie P. Yapchiongco

ISSN 3027-9976

Copyright © 2024 by Second Congressional Commission on Education

Contents
List of Abbreviations vi List of Figures xiv List of Tables xviii Preface

xx Executive Summary xxiv Acknowledgments xlvi Introduction xlviii

Priority Areas lviii

Year 1 Findings 1 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT 3 Priority

1: Nutrition and Feeding 17 Priority 2: Supply-Side Factors 40 Priority 4:
Governance and Financing of ECCD 60 Next Steps for Year 2 77

BASIC EDUCATION 79 Priority 5: Learning Resources 83 Priority 6:

Measurement of Learning Outcomes 94 Priority 7: Curriculum and Instruction
 116 Next Steps for Year 2 127

HIGHER EDUCATION 129 Priority Area 11a: Access to Quality

Education 146 Priority Area 11b: Quality Assurance 158 Next Steps for Year
2 171

TEACHER EDUCATION 175 Priority 16: Alignment of CHED, the PRC,

and DepEd (including the TEC) on Teacher Education and Development 187
Priority 18: In-Service Training and Development, Including Teacher Welfare
191 Next Steps for Year 2 204
TECHNICAL-VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
AND TRAINING & LIFELONG LEARNING 207 Priority 20: Industry
Involvement and
Investment in Upskilling Programs 216 Priority 21: Ensuring Quality in
Providing
TVET for Better Jobs 224 Next Steps for Year 2 241

GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE 245 Priority Area 23: Seamless and

Integrated
Delivery of Education 247 Priority Area 25: Integrated System of
Performance Management and Accountability 269 Priority Area 26:
Efficiency and Equity in Financing, Resource Mobilization, and Delivery of
Education 274 Priority Area 27: Decentralization and
Participatory Governance 300 Next Steps for Year 2 316

Conclusion 319

The Second Congressional Commission on Education 328

Commissioners 328 Education, Legislation, and Policy Advisory
Council 329 Standing Committees 329 Technical Secretariat 332

References 334 Annexes 352

vi EDCOM II Year One Report

List of Abbreviations
Abbreviation Definition

4Ps Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

A&E Accreditation and Equivalency

AACCUP Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and

Universities in the Philippines

ABC Approved Budget for the Contract

ACSCU-AAI Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and

Universities– Accrediting Agency, Inc.

ACTRC Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research Centre

AI artificial intelligence
ALCU Association of Local Colleges and Universities

ALCUCOA Association of Local Colleges and Universities

Commission on Accreditation

ALS Alternative Learning System

ANA Amplified Numeracy Assessment

AO Administrative Officer

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

AQRF ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework

AY academic year

BARMM Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

BE Business Education

BEA Bureau of Education Assessment

BECEd Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

BEEd Bachelor of Elementary Education

BHROD Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development

BHW barangay health worker

BIR Bureau of Internal Revenue

BLD Bureau of Learning Delivery

BLEPT Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers

BLGF Bureau of Local Government Finance

List of Abbreviations vii

BLR Bureau of Learning Resources

BNS barangay nutrition scholar

BSEd Bachelor of Secondary Education

CBT competency-based training

CDC child development center

CDW child development worker

CDW/T child development worker/teacher

CG curriculum guide

CHED Commission on Higher Education

CMO CHED Memorandum Order

COCOPEA Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations

COD center of development

COE center of excellence

 CPBRD Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department

CRLA Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment

CSO civil society organization

DA Department of Agriculture

DATs division achievement tests

DBM Department of Budget and Management

DECS Department of Education, Culture, and Sports

DENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources

DepEd Department of Education

DICT Department of Information and Communications Technology

DILG Department of the Interior and Local Government

DLSU De La Salle University

DM DepEd Memorandum

DO DepEd Order

DOE Department of Energy

DOF Department of Finance

DOH Department of Health

viii EDCOM II Year One Report

DOLE Department of Labor and Employment

DOST Department of Science and Technology

DPWH Department of Public Works and Highways

DRRM Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

DSWD Department of Social Welfare and Development

DTI Department of Trade and Industry

EBEIS Enhanced Basic Education Information System

EBT enterprise-based training

ECCD early childhood care and development

ECCDC Early Childhood Care and Development Council

ECE early childhood education

EDCOM I First Congressional Commission on Education

EDCOM II Second Congressional Commission on Education

EDQ Examinee’s Descriptive Questionnaire

EGEP Evaluation of Graduate Education in the Philippines

EGMA Early Grades Mathematics Assessment

EGRA Early Grades Reading Assessment

ELLNA Early Language, Literacy, and Numeracy Assessment

EO Executive Order

ETEEAP Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency

and Accreditation Program

EYA Early Years Act

F1KD First 1,000 Days

FAAP Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines

FHE free higher education

FLEMMS Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey

FSP Food Stamp Program

FY fiscal year

GR General Register

GAD Gender and Development

List of Abbreviations ix
GDP gross domestic product

GEEAP Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel

GER gross enrollment ratio

GIDA geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas

GPPB Government Procurement Policy Board

GPPB-TSO GPPB Technical Support Office

HB House Bill

HEI higher education institution

IB industry board

IBT institution-based training

ICT information and communications technology

ICTO Information Technology and Communications Office

IE Wave 3 Third Wave Impact Evaluation

ILO International Labour Organization

ILO-Ph Improved Learning Outcomes for the Philippines

ILSA international large-scale assessment

IPCRF Individual Performance Commitment and Review Form

KRT key reform thrusts

LCE local chief executive

 LCPC Local Council for the Protection of Children

LET Licensure Examination for Teachers

LFS Labor Force Survey

LGU local government unit

LIS Learner Information System

LSB local school board

LUCs local universities and colleges

M/CSWDO Municipal/City Social Welfare and Development Officer

MFAT Multi-Factored Assessment Tool

MIS management information system

MOI medium of instruction

x EDCOM II Year One Report

MOOE maintenance and other operating expenses

MOV means of verification

MTB-MLE Mother Tongue–Based Multilingual Education

NAST National Academy of Science and Technology

NAT National Achievement Test

NBDB National Book Development Board

NC National Certificate

NCAE National Career Assessment Examination

NCR National Capital Region

NDEP National Drug Education Program

NEAP National Educators’ Academy of the Philippines

NGA national government agency

NGO nongovernmental organization

NHTS-PR National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction

NLC National Learning Camp

NLCA National Learning Camp Assessment

NLRP National Learning Recovery Program

NMP National Mathematics Program

NNC National Nutrition Council

NNIS National Nutrition Information System

NNQAA National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies

NRP National Reading Program

NSciTP National Science and Technology Program

NSMW National Schools Maintenance Week

NTESDP National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PAASCU Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges

and Universities

PACUCOA Philippine Association of Colleges and

Universities Commission on Accreditation

List of Abbreviations xi
PASUC Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges

PBEd Philippine Business for Education

PCO Presidential Communications Office

PD professional development

PDIS Professional Development Information System

PEPT Philippine Educational Placement Test

PEZA Philippine Economic Zone Authority

Phil-IRI Philippine Informal Reading Inventory

PHROD Planning, Human Resource, and Organizational Development

PIDS Philippine Institute for Development Studies

PISA Programme for International Student Assessment

PNSL place with no SUC/LUC

PQF Philippine Qualifications Framework

PQF-NCC Philippine Qualifications Framework–National Coordinating

Council

PR participation rate

PRC Professional Regulation Commission

PSA Philippine Statistics Authority

PSG Policies, Standards, and Guidelines

PSOC Philippine Standard Occupational Classification

PTCACS Philippine TVET Competency Assessment and Certification

System

QA quality assurance

QMT quality management team

QS Quacquarelli Symonds

R/PTESDC Regional and Provincial Technical Education and Skills

 Development Committees

RA Republic Act

RATs regional achievement tests

RBEC Revised Basic Education Curriculum

RCTQ Research Center for Teacher Quality

SB Senate Bill

xii EDCOM II Year One Report

SBM school-based management

SDC Social Development Committee

SDO school division office

SEA-PLM Southeast Asian Primary Learning Metrics

SEF Special Education Fund

SETG Study on the Employment of TVET Graduates

SHS senior high school

SIP School Improvement Plan

SLMs self-learning modules

SMEA School Monitoring, Evaluation, and Adjustment

SPG Supreme Pupil Government

SRC school report card

SSG Supreme Student Government

STRIDE Science, Technology, Research, and Innovation for Development

SUCs state universities and colleges

SUs state universities

SY school year

TEC Teacher Education Council

TechVoc Technical-Vocational

TEI Teacher Education Institution

TES Tertiary Education Subsidy

TESDA Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

TIC teacher in charge

TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study

TR training regulation

TTI technical training institution

TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training

 TVI technical-vocational institution

TVL technical-vocational-livelihood

UAQTEA Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act

Preface xiii
ULAP Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines

UniFAST Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary

Education

UP University of the Philippines

UPCIDS UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies

UPPEJA UP President Edgardo J. Angara

UPSKILL US–Philippine Partnership for Skills, Innovation and Lifelong

Learning

USAID United States Agency for International Development

UTPRAS Unified TVET Program Registration and Accreditation System

WTR with training regulation

YES-O Youth for Environment in Schools Organization

xiv EDCOM II Year One Report

List of Figures

Executive Summary
Figure 1 ASEAN Performance Overall in PISA 2018 & 2022 l Figure 2 Distribution of
Scores of the Top 25% on ASEAN Countries in PISA 2022 Overall li

Early Childhood Care and Development

Figure 1 Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028 Strategy Framework to Improve
Education and Lifelong Learning 5 Figure 2 Malnutrition Trends in the Philippines for
Children Under Age Five, 1987–2021 16 Figure 3 Effects of Early Childhood
Supplementation With and Without Stimulation on Later Development in Stunted Jamaican
Children 18 Figure 4 Philippine SDG Targets for Goal 2: Zero Hunger 22 Figure 5 OPT
Plus Procedure 32 Figure 6 Day Care Centers per 10,000 Children Aged 3 to 4 Years 42
Figure 7 Distribution and Density of CDCs per 1,000 Children Aged 3 to 4 45 Figure 8
Reasons for Not Attending School for 3– to 4–Year–Old Children 49 Figure 9 Distribution
of CDW/Ts by Highest Educational Attainment 50 Figure 10 Distribution and Density of
 CDWs per 1,000 Children Aged 3 to 4 54 Figure 11 Distribution of Employment
Arrangements of CDW/Ts 58 Figure 12 Multisectoral Action for ECCD 61 Figure 13
Expanding ECED Services Through Different Financing Mechanisms 74

Basic Education
Figure 1 Enrollment Rates, 2013–2023 80 Figure 2 Net Enrollment Rates, 2013–2023 80
Figure 3 Dropout Rates, 2015–2022 81 Figure 4 Comparison of Proficiency Levels of
Filipino Learners in PISA
2018 and PISA 2022 82 Figure 5 Summary of Successful Procurement of Textbooks
(2012–2023) for Grade 1 to Grade 10 84
List of Figures xv

Figure 6 DepEd’s Budget Utilization for Textbooks and Other

Instructional Materials 85 Figure 7 Key Procurement Challenges in
Textbook Development 87 Figure 8 Manuscript and Textbook Flowchart 92 Figure 9
Mapping of Assessments Administered in Basic Education 95 Figure 10 Language of
Instruction and Testing at Home: SEA-PLM 2019
Learner Demographics Report 101 Figure 11 Timeline of Administration
of National Assessments from SY 2016–2017 to SY 2022–2023 105 Figure 12 Process
Flow for National Assessments 107 Figure 13 Test Development Process for National
Assessments, as Explained in DepEd Order No. 55, s. 2016 109 Figure 14 Current
Staffing Complement of the Bureau of Education Assessment as of November 2023 112

Higher Education
Figure 1 Historical Gross Enrollment Rates in Tertiary Education of ASEAN Member
States (1970–2022) 130 Figure 2 Philippine Enrollment Share by Private vs. Public
Providers 133 Figure 3 Share of Philippine HEIs with Programs Passing Voluntary
Accreditation 138 Figure 4 Distribution of Centers of Excellence (COEs) and Centers of
Development (CODs) by Discipline and Institutional Type 139 Figure 5 Distribution of
Enrollments per Type of Higher Education Institution in the Philippines 141 Figure 6
Number of Autonomous and Deregulated Private Higher Education Institutions 142
Figure 7 Distribution of State Universities Across Levels 143 Figure 8 Tertiary Education
Subsidies Distribution by Eligibility Criteria 150 Figure 9 Map of Koronadal City and Type
of HEI Nearby Cities and Municipalities 151
xvi EDCOM II Year One Report
Figure 10 Distribution of LUC Enrollments by Region (AY 2018–2019 and AY 2021–2022)
155 Figure 11 Budget Allocation to Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act
(RA 10931) Programs 156

Teacher Education
Figure 1 Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (BLEPT), 2009–2023
179 Figure 2 Percent of Questions Answered Correctly by the Median Teacher, 2014
182 Figure 3 Distribution of Grade 10 High School Teachers’ Preferred Additional
Support for Enhancing Classroom Teaching in
2014: A Percentage Analysis 184

Technical-Vocational Education and Training & Lifelong Learning

Figure 1 Number of TVET Enrollees and Graduates by Delivery Mode, 2014–2022 211
Figure 2 TVET Graduates by Educational Attainment Before Training, 2012 & 2018 (%)
212 Figure 3 Public and Private TVIs, 2014–2022 213 Figure 4 Enterprise-Based Training
Chart 218 Figure 5 TR Development Process 229 Figure 6 Process of Registering a TVET
Program 231 Figure 7 Number of TVET Graduates Assessed and Certified, 2014–2022 232
List of Figures xvii

Governance and Finance

Figure 1 Distribution of Authorized Positions (Plantilla) vis-a-vis the Number of
Universities per Region 251 Figure 2 Distribution of Authorized Positions (Plantilla) vis-a-
vis the Number of TVIs per Region 252 Figure 3 Comparison of Enrollment per
Subsector (SY 1990–1991 and SY 2022–2023) 261 Figure 4 Comparison of Educational
Institutions per Subsector (SY 1990–1991 and SY 2022–2023) 262 Figure 5 Public
Education Expenditure per Student by Levels of Education, 2015–2020 279 Figure 6
Median SEF Income by LGU Type 281 Figure 7 SEF Income by Region, 2018–2022 284
Figure 8 SEF Income Distribution by LGU Type 285 Figure 9 Average SEF Income of
Municipalities by Income Class, 2018–2022 287 Figure 10 Distribution of LGUs Based on
SEF Utilization Rate 294
xviii EDCOM II Year One Report

List of Tables
Early Childhood Care and Development
Table 1 Philippine Basic and Early Childhood Education System 11 Table 2
Types of Public ECCD Programs in the Philippines 12 Table 3 ECCD-IS and
NETIS Data on Enrollment in Public CDCs for SY
2019–2020 to SY 2022–2023 13 Table 4 Legislative Coverage for Nutrition
Policies 19 Table 5 Nutrition Programs Across NGAs 26 Table 6 Changing
Needs in Early Childhood Education 40 Table 7 ECCD Program Performance
Information, National Expenditure
Program (NEP) for FY 2022 43 Table 8 ECCD Program Performance
Information, National Expenditure Program (NEP) for FY 2023 44 Table 9
Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028: Indicator 3 Targets 48 Table 10
Staff Qualifications for ECCD-ECE Programs in the Philippines 52 Table 11
Minimum Standards/Requirements for ECCD Teachers in Southeast Asia 55
Table 12 Coordination Across Levels of Governance 66 Table 13 ECCD
Sources of Funding: From LGU Budgets 70 Table 14 ECCD Sources of
Funding: From NGA Budgets 72 Table 15 Summary of ECCD Source of Funds
in the Philippines 73 Table 16 ECCD Governance and Finance in Peru,
Indonesia, and Malaysia 74

Basic Education
Table 1 Classroom Assessments Administered at Scale 97 Table 2 Description
of Contract Lots for National Assessments 104 Table 3 Comparison of
Independent and Nonindependent Institutional
Arrangements for Assessment Bodies 115 Table 4 Components
of the National Recovery Program as of December 31, 2023 121
List of Tables xix

Higher Education
Table 1 Gross Enrollment Rates in Tertiary Education of ASEAN Member States (2018–
2022) 131 Table 2 Enrollment in Private HEIs (2021) 132 Table 3 Quality Assurance
Bodies for Philippine Education Institutions 136 Table 4 Number of HEIs in Ranking
Brackets of World University Rankings 145 Table 5 Target Matrix of Number of HEIs
Under Reputable International Rankings 146 Table 6 Case Study: Public Institutions in
Proximate Distance to Koronadal City 151 Table 7 Budget Allocation for the FHE
Program in LUCs and SUCs 154 Table 8 Reconstituted Technical Panels 162

Teacher Education
Table 1 Chronological Compilation of Laws, Department Orders, and Policies Impacting
Teachers Over Time 195 Table 2 Sample Schools and Their Teaching and Nonteaching
 Staff 198

Technical-Vocational Education and Training & Lifelong Learning

Table 1 Number of TVET Enrollees and Graduates by Delivery Mode, 2014–2022 210
Table 2 Updated Number of Training Regulation (TRs) Classified by Level as of June
2023 226 Table 3 Number of Recognized Industry Boards per Sector and Classification
as of December 2023 227 Table 4 EDCOM Computations Based on TESDA 2021 SETG
236

Governance and Finance

Table 1 National-Level Coordinative Mechanisms 265 Table 2 2022 PISA Scores and
Cumulative Education Spending of Selected Countries 275 Table 3 Public Expenditure
per Student: Philippines and Selected Countries 2017 USD PPP 277 Table 4 Spending
Priorities per Major Expense Category in 2008 Compared to 2018 292
xx EDCOM II Year One Report

Preface

The current iteration of the Congressional Commission on

Education (EDCOM) came into being in 2022 through Republic
Act (RA) No. 11899, soon after the results of the 2018 Programme
for International Students Assessment (PISA) came out. The
country’s performance in the said assessment was dismal, to say
the least, prompting stakeholders and advocates to declare a crisis
in Philippine education. Coupled with a pandemic that further
 exposed vulnerabilities in the education sector, the issue, already
long-standing at that point, became even more pronounced. Alarm
bells were heard loud and clear in our legislative halls, and the
EDCOM was convened.

The first question we were tasked to answer was: Does a crisis

really exist? To this, our response is unequivocal: Yes, there is an
education crisis.
Preface xxi

This report was not crafted to

point fingers; from the onset,
we knew that if we were to truly
diagnose the ills of Philippine
education, punitive thinking
must be parked at the door. Our
intention, instead, was to find
things out and to instill a sense
of urgency, along with a sense
of doability—a clear horizon,
and perhaps a sketch of the map
toward that horizon.

Such a question need not have taken years of study and

consultations to be answered. The crisis is felt in the very bones of
the nation—by
parents, by educators, by employers, and by students themselves.
Our goal for this report, therefore, is to go beyond merely sounding
alarm bells that have long been sounded. And while greater public
awareness will certainly be helpful, this report intends not only to
confirm the existence of the crisis, but more importantly, to discover
exactly how such a crisis came to be, and why it has persisted.

The Commission’s First Year Report is a level-headed look at the

extent of the challenges that our nation faces as regards
education: its context and its roots, and hopefully, approaches
and ways
forward and out of the current situation. This report was not
crafted to point fingers; from the onset, we knew that if we were
to truly
diagnose the ills of Philippine education, punitive thinking must be
parked at the door. Our intention, instead, was to find things out
and to instill a sense of urgency, along with a sense of doability—a
clear horizon, and perhaps a sketch of the map toward that horizon.
xxii EDCOM II Year One Report

This report is the product of the Commission’s hard work since it

was formally convened on January 23, 2023. Data was gathered,
numbers were analyzed, and the stories of teachers and students in
the grassroots were heard. Over time, we were able to paint a picture
of why the country is performing so poorly. We have strived to make
this picture as comprehensive as can be, while acknowledging that it
is by no means complete. We invite all to scrutinize our findings; we
welcome the expansion of the reservoir of insight that the nation can
draw upon as we address the education crisis.

Such solidarity is necessary, because the crisis is complex,

immense, and has become deeply rooted in a sector that has for
many years suffered from piecemeal, albeit well-intentioned,
reforms. And if there is one takeaway that we wish the reader
might acquire from this report, it is that all of us must work, and
must
work together. Stakeholders, from the top level of policymaking
to the frontlines in our communities, must begin to think of
themselves as part of a larger whole. Only then can we create true
synergy; only then can we execute a true strategy, build a true
system; only then can we shed our disconnects and embark on
a collaborative journey that will allow the Filipinos to fulfill their
truest potential.

23 January 2024
 Preface xxiii

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian Co- Representative Roman Romulo Co-

Chairperson Chairperson
EDCOM II EDCOM II

Senator Francis Escudero* Co- Representative Mark Go

Chairperson Co-Chairperson
EDCOM II EDCOM II

Senator Sonny Angara Representative Francisco Benitez

Commissioner Commissioner
EDCOM II EDCOM II

Senator Pia Cayetano Representative Khalid Dimaporo

Commissioner Commissioner
EDCOM II EDCOM II

Senator Joel Villanueva Representative Pablo John Garcia

Commissioner Commissioner
EDCOM II EDCOM II

*Represented by Senator Aquilino Martin “Koko” Pimentel III

xxiv EDCOM II Year One Report
 Executive Summary
As the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II)
completes its first year, it finds itself in a position to shed light on the
context and challenges that need to be confronted in its first priority areas.

A system is defined as “a regularly interacting or interdependent group of

items forming a unified whole.” By this standard, the education system in the
Philippines struggles to meet the criteria of a “system.” By the standards of
the 1987 Constitution as well, it is short of “a complete, adequate, and
integrated system of education.” Instead, agencies, bureaus, and offices have
focused on their respective mandates and targets, often independent of one
another. This is evident in the challenges uncovered by the Commission in its
first year: from the fragmented implementation of ECCD interventions; the
disjointed pathways in teacher development (from preservice to licensure, to
hiring); the lack of education programs for critical education professionals; the
absence of monitoring mechanisms, as well as the inequities reinforced by
the Special Education Fund; and the ineffective coordination aggravated by
the immoderate number of interagency bodies to which DepEd, CHED, and
TESDA need to attend. This, amidst the ever expanding mandates of the 3
agencies, despite their finite number of personnel.
Executive Summary xxv

Ultimately, this has led to the “miseducation”—or plainly, poorly delivered

education—of Filipino learners, bringing about a profound education crisis, as
has been laid bare by both national and international assessments—issues
that the Commission now seeks to squarely address.

Early Childhood Care and Development

The Philippines has one of the highest prevalence of under-5

stunting in the world, at 26.7%, compared to the global average of
22.3%. Nutrition-specific interventions in the Philippines for children below 5
years old generally adhere to global recommendations, but implementation
has been fragmented, coverage remains low, and targeting of interventions
has been weak. For instance, the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) supplementary feeding program feeds all children in
day care centers, despite its mandate under Republic Act (RA) No. 11037 to
feed only malnourished children. Meanwhile, data from the Department of
Education (DepEd) school based feeding program show that at most 30% of
learners fall back to become “wasted” and “severely wasted” despite
months of interventions. To resolve challenges in nutrition in the early years,
strong collaboration, equitable resourcing, and clear accountability across the
ECCD Council, DepEd, DOH, NNC, DSWD, and LGUs are imperative.

Early childhood education is not equally accessible throughout the

country. Despite RA 6972 of 1990 requiring each province, city, or
municipality to establish a day care center in every barangay, data from the
DSWD and Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council show
that only 36% have at least 1 child development center (CDC) per day care,
or 15,207 out of 42,027 barangays in the country. The lowest coverage of
CDCs is seen in Region VIII, with only 479 recorded CDCs out of 4,365
barangays (11%), and in the Cordillera Administrative Region, with only 152
recorded CDCs out of 1,178 barangays (13%). Extreme discrepancies also
exist, with first-class municipalities having up to 6 centers for every 10,000
children aged 3 to 4 versus 1 to 2 only in sixth-class municipalities.

Most day care teachers and workers are aging and lack training in
early childhood education (ECE). Fifty-two percent have a college
degree, and 17% have only a high school diploma, and only a few have
trained in ECCD. The
xxvi EDCOM II Year One Report

Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) current undergraduate program in

ECE prepares graduates typically for 0–4 years old (Pre-K) and Key Stage 1
(Kindergarten to Grade 3) learners. However, of the 224 higher education
institutions (HEIs) offering the ECE teaching program, there have only been
3,993 ECE graduates since 2005, or about 80 annually. This falls short of the
demand for Kindergarten teachers alone. As governed by RA 7836 of 1994,
ECE graduates specializing in teaching 0-4 year old children who want to take
the Licensure Examination for Teachers need to register for the Elementary
Level exam, even if it currently encompasses competencies and learning
areas for children beyond the early years (0–4).

Eighty-nine percent of child development teachers and workers

hold nonpermanent positions and receive an average of Php
5,000 per month. Data from the DSWD show that 19% receive an
honorarium of less than Php 1,000 per month. Worse, according to
UNICEF, the average salary is Php 5,000 per month versus the starting
salary of a Kindergarten teacher in DepEd of Php 27,000 per month.

Basic Education

Despite improvements in enrollment rates in basic education over

the past decade, concerns persist about the quality of the
education system. The Human Capital Index estimates that a Filipino
learner who starts school at 4 years old would have received 12.9 years of
 schooling by age 18; however, factoring in what children learn, this could be
equivalent to only 7.5 years. This estimate is based on the performance of
the Philippines in various international large-scale assessments in 2018 and
2019. These results are also confirmed by the National Achievement Test
(NAT) for Grade 6 (SY 2020– 2021), which shows that students are nearly
proficient in Filipino, with a mean percentage score of 54%, but achieved
only a low proficiency in Math (41%), English (44%), Araling Panlipunan
(44%), and Science (44%).

To address issues of quality, EDCOM II focused on the availability of

textbooks in public schools, the adequacy and effectiveness of the
assessment system, and the review of recent policy reforms in curriculum
and instruction.
Executive Summary xxvii

Since 2012, only 27 textbooks have been procured for Grade 1 to

Grade 10, despite substantial budget allocations. DepEd’s budget
utilization data show that from 2018 to 2022 alone, a total of Php 12.6
billion has been allocated to textbooks and other instructional materials, but
only Php 4.5 billion (35.3%) has been obligated and Php 952 million (7.5%)
has been disbursed.

Out of the 27 key stage assessments scheduled to be conducted

from SY 2016–2017 to SY 2022–2023, 24 encountered problems.
Thirteen were delayed, and 11 were not administered at all. This has led
to a proliferation of assessment activities that inform the short-term
decisions of various stakeholders but are not useful for any long-term
planning or policymaking.

The challenge in system assessments stems from procurement and

staffing issues. Contracts for national assessments are typically divided into
3 lots— namely, printing and warehousing, scanning and processing of test
results, and delivery and retrieval of materials. From consultations with
DepEd, EDCOM II finds that very few vendors have shown interest in bidding
for Lots 1 and 2 in recent years due to challenges such as the quarantine
requirement and unattractive contract pricing.

In terms of staffing, DepEd’s Bureau of Education Assessment (BEA) is

responsible for 12 assessment programs annually but has 19 unfilled
positions out of its 55 regular and coterminous items. Data from CHED show
that of the country’s 2,396 higher education institutions, only 4 offer
master’s programs related to educational assessment. These programs
maintain low enrollment rates and produce an average of only 7 graduates
each year. Thus, while competencies in educational assessment are
important for employees of BEA, graduates of the said programs seldom
consider working in the bureau.

The revised K to 10 curriculum guides can enhance learning

outcomes, but teachers cannot implement them without adequate
support. Teachers appreciate efforts to decongest the curriculum, but they
are also concerned about repeated competencies and are challenged by the
spiral progression approach. DepEd claims to have already addressed these
in the final version of the curriculum guides, which are now being piloted in
35 schools across 7 regions. Meanwhile, challenges in implementation
include time constraints, incomplete teaching and learning resources, and
limited facilities. EDCOM II recommends that DepEd address these issues
for effective curriculum delivery.
xxviii EDCOM II Year One Report

The National Learning Recovery Program is a step in the right direction,

but many of the components remain unclear and have no implementing
guidelines. For example, in the learning camp (an end-of-school-year
remediation program), EDCOM II found that learners who were most in need of
remediation were often those who did not participate. Further, while baseline and
end-line assessments were administered, results remained unavailable, making it
difficult to group learners by ability and track their progress. It is imperative that
learning recovery efforts, especially in Reading, are ramped up urgently, with a
focus on Key Stage 1 (Kindergarten to Grade 3), but also for learners in other
grade levels, majority of whom, as data show, are not equipped with these
foundational competencies.

While using the child’s first language in instruction is consistent

with theories in pedagogy, it has been difficult to implement due
to the highly centralized structure of DepEd.

Higher Education

More learners are enrolling in higher education, particularly in public

institutions, but a large number of students are dropping out before
completing their degrees. The Philippines fares relatively well in terms of
gross enrollment rates in tertiary education, at 34.89%, compared to the lower-
middle income countries group average of 25.92%. However, it places close to
last when compared to its ASEAN peers. The past decades saw a surge in
enrollment at state university and college (SUC) satellite campuses (23% of the
total) and main campuses (19%). On the other hand, the private school share in
enrollment is at its lowest since 1945, at 50%. Despite increases in enrollment,
attrition rates have more than doubled within only 3 years, from 20% in 2019 to
41% in 2020.

While some progress in providing fair access to higher education

 has been made, quality higher education remains elusive. Data
show the incremental increases in enrollment of the poorest students
(lowest decile) from only 1.7% in 1999 to 6.1% in 2019. But during the
same period, the enrollment share of autonomous and deregulated HEIs—
deemed to have the highest levels of quality among private institutions—
dropped from 26% in 2010 to 18% in 2018.
Executive Summary xxix
xxx EDCOM II Year One Report

The increase in the number of autonomous and deregulated

institutions, and centers of excellence and development has been slow.
From 2001 to 2021, the number of autonomous and deregulated private HEIs
increased from 53 to only 89. Further, only 182 out of 2,396 HEIs nationwide
have centers of excellence or development (COEs or CODs). Notably, 57% of
these COEs are in 7 institutions only, 6 of which are in the National Capital
Region (NCR). For voluntary accreditation, improvements are likewise modest,
from 20% having accredited programs in 2009 to just 29% in 2018. Admittedly,
this is affected by various factors, including its voluntary nature, the costs
entailed, as well timelines for accreditation.

EDCOM II also finds that the reconstitution of technical panels has been
incremental, with only 15 out of the 98 required panels being reconstituted,
and thus recommends fast-tracking the process to control and assure delivery
of quality programs.

Most beneficiaries of the tertiary education subsidy were not the

poorest. Between 2018 and 2022, the share of the poorest of the poor
(Listahanan 2.0 and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries) in
the subsidy declined drastically, from 74% to 31%. Instead, the majority of
grantees were those in municipalities and cities without SUCs and local
universities and colleges (LUCs) (from 26% to 69%). This is contrary to the
prioritization prescribed by the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary
Education Act (UAQTEA). Thus, EDCOM II recommended a special provision
in the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to enhance targeting and
address the issue of equitable access.

Enrollment and budgetary allocations to the Free Higher Education

Program have increased significantly. The budget, particularly
allocated toward the LUCs, has increased by 217% between 2018 and 2022.
Notably, regional disparities are prominent, with the largest increases in
enrollment seen in the NCR at 530%. From 2018 to 2023, there was a
significant increase in the budget for the Free Higher Education Program
from 40.02% to 55.15%, whereas the budget for the Tertiary Education
Program only marginally increased from 39.84% to 44.40%.
Executive Summary xxxi
Teacher Education

Passing rates in the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) have

been low, and the quality assurance of teacher education
institutions is weak. Between 2009 and 2023, the average passing rate in
the licensure examinations for elementary (33%) and secondary (40%) has
been dismal compared to passing rates in other professions. Worse, data
show that between 2012 and 2022, 77 HEIs offering Bachelor of Elementary
Education and 105 HEIs offering Bachelor of Secondary Education continued
operations despite having consistently zero passing rates in the LET.

Enhancement of the Teacher Education Council (TEC) has been at a

standstill for 2 years, despite the pressing need for reforms. For all
the efforts to improve the governance of teacher education and
development, little progress has been made since EDCOM I. Despite the
passage of the Excellence in Teacher Education Act, which seeks to
strengthen the TEC and address the coordination challenges in the space
(passed on April 27, 2022, and its IRR on May 26, 2023), the full
operationalization of the Council remains to be awaited.

Teachers still bear the burden of administrative and ancillary tasks,

despite efforts to allow them to focus on teaching. Teachers continue
to be burdened by 50 nonteaching or administrative tasks, based on DepEd’s
inventory. While administrative officers have been hired (5,000 per year
starting in 2020), the impact remains limited. This is aggravated by the
uneven allocation of support staff across schools, with some having more
than 500 teachers and only 4 nonteaching personnel.

Career advancement and professional development opportunities

remain limited. Most teachers lament the scarcity of master teacher
positions (due to the 2004 quota system that allows master teacher
positions for up to only
10% of authorized teacher positions in the district), which prevents them
from getting promoted despite meeting requirements. Meanwhile, teachers
also express difficulty in accessing training opportunities, either due to
limited slots (for those organized by DepEd) or cost (for private ones).
xxxii EDCOM II Year One Report

Technical-Vocational Education and Training

Participation in technical-vocational education and training (TVET)

has increased from 333,789 in 1991 to 2.3 million in 2020. This was
buoyed by the increase in TVET institutions from 1,270 to 4,550 in the same
period and the introduction of many student subsidies and scholarships,
 including the Private Education Student Financial Assistance, the Special
Training for Employment Program, the Training for Work Scholarship
Program, and the Tertiary Education Subsidy. A large proportion of
graduates, however, do not undergo assessment certification (45% in 2021
and 26% in 2022), although passing rates are high for those who do (about
93%).

The majority of students are enrolled in community-based training

(CBT) programs, constituting 39% of the total enrollment. In fact,
between 2014 and 2022, there were 3.7 million trainees. CBT programs,
however, are typically not assessed since most are not covered by training
regulations, and thus graduates could not gain National Certificates (NCs). On
the other hand, only 9% of total TVET enrollment is completed through
enterprise-based programs, despite successive TESDA targets to increase
this to 40% by 2022.

Policies related to enterprise-based training (EBT) are confusing and

need to be clarified and streamlined. One major challenge would be the
multiple policies covering 6 different forms of EBT, including apprenticeship,
dual training systems, learnership, dualized training programs, supervised
industry learning, and the Program on Accelerating Farm School
Establishment. Stakeholders expressed the need to simplify and tailor-fit
the programs to the unique needs of different industries and learners that
could benefit from the program.

Sixty-four percent of programs with training regulations are lower-

skill (NC I and NC II). TESDA data further show that the proportion of
training regulations with NCs III and IV is only 35%. Meanwhile, most
registered programs are in NC II (56%). Moreover, there are very few training
regulations available for NC IV (7%) and no training regulations for NC V. This
is concerning given the analysis that shows that improvements in income
before and after training are substantial only for those completing NCs III and
IV.
Executive Summary xxxiii

Out of a total of 1,888 programs, only 315 have corresponding training

regulations (TRs), leaving a significant number of programs with no
training regulations (NTR). This means that less than 15% of the training
programs of TESDA lead to a National Certificate. During consultations, it was
revealed that TR development could take from 6 months to 2 years, making it
difficult for training programs to be nimble enough to respond to the rapidly
changing needs of industry.

Industry participation remains limited and prohibitive, while processing

times for TESDA are slow. To date, there are only 40 TESDA-recognized
industry boards (IBs) at varying levels—national, regional, and provincial. This is
concentrated in only 8 industries: agri-fishery (12), with 1 national IB, 5 regional
IBs, and 6 provincial IBs; tourism (6), 1 national IB and 5 provincial IBs;
construction (4), 1 national IB and 3 provincial IBs; ICT (8), 2 national IBs, 4
regional IBs, and 2 provincial IBs; manufacturing (5), 1 national IB, 2 regional IBs,
and 2 provincial IBs; garments (1), 1 provincial IB; creatives (2), 1 regional IB and
1 provincial IB; and logistics (2), 2 regional IBs. During EDCOM consultations,
industries decried the voluminous paperwork, the rigid but obsolete
requirements, and the long processing times of TESDA. For instance, the TESDA
Board, which approves training regulations, only met once in 2022 and twice in
2023.

These boards are strategically focused on 8 distinct industries, showcasing a

varied distribution: This distribution underscores the current framework of
TESDA’s recognition in fostering skill development and standardization within
specific sectors at different geographical levels.

The shortage of instructors, assessors, and certifiers from industry is a

binding constraint. During the consultations, it was noted that some
instructors and trainers from technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) have been
pirated by senior high schools (SHSs) that offer the technical-vocational-
livelihood (TVL) track. It was identified that there is a need for an additional
11,838 competency assessors to facilitate the assessment and certification of
students enrolled in the SHS TVL track. During the Visayas consultations, it was
repeatedly mentioned that students are not assessed because there are no
assessors in their area. This is problematic because transportation would add to
the cost of their training.
xxxiv EDCOM II Year One Report

Governance and Finance

The staffing levels in CHED and TESDA have not kept pace with the
growing responsibilities of the agencies and the increased
investments in education from both public and private sectors.
CHED’s budget increased by 633% from 2013 to 2023, but the agency’s
staffing complement only increased by 22.7%, from 543 to 666 within the
same period. In particular, staffing in field offices remains lean. CHED’s
regional offices have only 20–28 regular personnel, while TESDA’s provincial
offices have only 7–12 staff with plantilla. As for DepEd, preliminary analysis
suggests there are deficits of over 10,000 administrative officer positions in
public schools based on staffing standards issued by the Department of
Budget and Management in 1997. In the absence of support staff,
administrative tasks are taken on by teachers and school heads, affecting
their ability to carry out primary responsibilities, which in turn impacts the
quality of learning outcomes.
 The failure to permanently establish a high-level coordinating body
as envisioned by EDCOM I has resulted in a long-standing lack of
effective coordination between the education agencies since
trifocalization took place in the 1990s. In the absence of this
coordinating body, at least 68 interagency bodies have been established to
enable coordination on a broad range of concerns. The amount of time
required to attend to all these bodies suggests that the current situation is
impracticable.

There is misalignment in the systems and accountability frameworks

intended to monitor and oversee performance at the system,
agency, and individual levels within the public sector. These fail to
hold individuals accountable and to incentivize enhanced performance. Best
practices in the performance management systems of Punjab, Pakistan; New
South Wales in Australia; and Indonesia show possible ways forward: adopt
an outcome oriented and holistic perspective in crafting few but easy-to-
understand targets; differentiate targets across different management
systems; use performance management as a diagnostic tool rather than a
punitive measure; account for systemic equity; and put in place an
accompanying system of support to drive improvements.
Executive Summary xxxv

While there has been substantial growth in both public and private
sector investments in education since EDCOM I, the country’s level
of investment falls short when compared to its better-performing
ASEAN neighbors. Analysis of the PISA (Programme for International
Student Assessment) results suggests that cumulative education
expenditure per student from age 6 to 15 is associated with good
performance. The Philippines currently has a cumulative spending of USD
11,000 (PPP), which is far from the USD 50,000 threshold, at which the
positive relationship tapers off.

There is a marked disparity in the Special Education Fund (SEF)

income among different types of local government units (LGUs).
Municipalities are the worst off, with a median SEF income of Php 1.6 million,
or a mere 4% of the median SEF income of cities and provinces. Analysis of
SEF income distribution also shows that the SEF income of a typical city or
province would be at least 4 times higher than that of a typical municipality.
However, there is a considerable gap even between municipalities, with first-
income-class municipalities having 68 times more SEF income than their
sixth-income-class peers. This indicates that expanding the use of the SEF
beyond supplementing the budgetary needs of school operations would put
particular LGUs at a severe disadvantage without measures that enable
equitable allocation.
Current levels of school maintenance and other operating expenses
(MOOE) budgets are insufficient to fully cover the operating costs of
public elementary and high schools. EDCOM II consultations with school
heads and teachers found that 30% to 70% of the school MOOE budget is
spent on utility bills alone, which leaves meager funds available for
improvement projects and initiatives that could address local needs and
support better learning.

Efforts to empower schools and local communities through the

adoption of school-based management (SBM) face challenges
such as dependence on foreign-assisted projects, frequent
turnover of education leadership, and a deeply ingrained
hierarchical organizational culture resulting from years of
centralization, which constrain the ability of SBM to genuinely
revolutionize basic education at the grassroots level.Despite these
setbacks, there continues to be support for decentralization at the local level.
Informal and ad-hoc devolution of education responsibilities and functions is
already being implemented locally, but the absence of a formal policy
hinders local actors from taking a more active role and reaping the full
benefits of devolution—faster, more focused responses, and innovative
solutions that address local context and needs.
xxxvi EDCOM II Year One Report

EDCOM Year 1
Recommendations
Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

Priority 1: Nutrition and Feeding

1. Study the equitable allocation of resources by identifying better
targeting mechanisms and coverage for nutritionally at-risk
children to create a long-term and sustainable impact of health
and nutrition programs. Prioritizing the equitable distribution of
resources, especially in lower-income municipalities, can ensure that
each child has access to health and nutrition interventions that are
critical to early childhood care and development.
2. Find possible complementarities of the Pantawid Pamilyang
Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the Food Stamp Program of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development. This is in
recognition that the challenge of nutrition demands a multisectoral
solution for addressing the intricacies of maternal and child health and
nutrition comprehensively.
 EDCOM I has proposed a comprehensive set of evidence-based nutrition
interventions during the early years. This is reflected in the General
Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2024, where Php 300 million is specifically designated
for nutritionally at-risk pregnant mothers and children below 5 years old in fifth-
and sixth-class municipalities exhibiting more than or equal to 15% stunting rates
in nonfood stamp sites. There should be interventions that aim to complement the
Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project, emphasizing a concerted effort to
address nutrition challenges comprehensively.

Priority 2: Supply-Side Factors

3. Develop a universal ECCD database. Consolidated data from
multisectoral and interagency sources are essential for the purpose
of systematic monitoring, reporting, and targeted intervention. This
will empower agencies to align efforts, allocate resources, and
implement interventions efficiently.
Executive Summary xxxvii

4. Expand the ECCD provisions to encompass private, community-

based, and home-based programs. To achieve universal access to
ECCD,
especially for ages 3–4, it is imperative to expand and support
alternative delivery modes.
5. Develop education pathways for child development
workers and teachers through certificate programs by the
Technical Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED).

EDCOM II has formally requested TESDA and CHED to undertake the development
of training regulations (for National Certificates) and Policies, Standards, and
Guidelines (for associate degrees). Both agencies have committed to initiating this
process.

6. Create plantilla positions for child development workers and teachers.

Priority 4: Governance and Financing of ECCD

7. Strengthen the ECCD Council Governing Board to include the
Department of the Interior and Local Government.
8. Include a representative of ECCD on the local school board.

The above 3 interventions (Recommendations 6, 7, and 8) are in the bill filed by

EDCOM II Commissioners through provisions in the Basic Education and Early
 Childhood Alignment Act, or Senate Bill No. 2029; and House Bill No. 8393,
authored by Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, EDCOM II co-chair, and Representative
Jose Francisco B. Benitez, who serves as co-chair for the standing committee on
ECCD.

9. Study complementarities in service delivery on the ground: local

councils for the protection of children, barangay nutrition
scholars, and barangay health workers.
10. Establish equity-oriented funding and policy interventions. This
should focus on ensuring access to child development centers, as well
as the resourcing of nutrition programs, in fifth- and sixth-class
municipalities and geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
xxxviii EDCOM II Year One Report

Basic Education

Priority 5: Learning Resources

11. For the Department of Education (DepEd) to look into the
possibility of procuring books that are already available on the
market rather than engaging publishers to develop new ones.

EDCOM II urged DepEd to review its strategy for ensuring timely

textbook procurement for the upcoming school year. Given that the
estimated duration of the procurement process under the new policy takes a
year, DepEd must be prepared to provide alternative teaching and learning
resources if it intends to roll out the MATATAG curriculum in SY 2024–2025.

Priority 6: Measurement of Learning Outcomes

12. Review the Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media
Survey (FLEMMS). FLEMMS’s framework and results are published
and widely disseminated; however, the results of FLEMMS are not used
by DepEd for planning curricular interventions. One possible reason is
that the definitions of basic literacy and functional literacy measured
by the parameters of FLEMMS do not necessarily match the literacies
measured by DepEd.
13. For DepEd to streamline the current assessment landscape in
basic education as a temporary measure. DepEd should develop a
cohesive, unified assessment framework that comprehensively
encompasses all levels of assessments. The implementation of
standardized assessments at the regional and division levels should
also be discouraged, provided that DepEd can assure the consistent
administration and timely release of results for national key stage
 assessments, such as the National Achievement Test and the Early
Language, Literacy, and Numeracy Assessment.
14. Modernize test administration, emphasizing investment in
essential components such as infrastructure, staffing, and
training that are vital for the successful implementation of
computer-based assessments. This will alleviate the multitude of
procurement challenges associated with traditional paper-based tests
while enhancing data collection and analysis and ensuring prompt release
and analysis of assessment results.
Executive Summary xxxix

15. Expand the staffing complement within the Bureau of

Education Assessment and place emphasis on the need for
implementing
comprehensive training and mentoring programs.

Priority 7: Curriculum and Instruction

16. For DepEd to address issues hindering teachers from delivering
quality instruction prior to the full implementation of the
revised curriculum. These include teacher training and the
development and distribution of learning resources. DepEd should also
formulate a contingency plan to ensure that teachers and learners will
have adequate learning resources by the upcoming school year.

To complement initiatives to assess and evaluate the curriculum and

instruction, the EDCOM II Commissioners from the House of
Representatives approved House Bill (HB) No. 6717, a bill suspending
the implementation of the Mother Tongue– Based Multilingual Education
(MTB-MLE), under Sec. 4 of Republic Act (RA) No. 10533, otherwise
known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, which mandates the
use of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction or first language
from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

HB 6717 was approved on the third reading on February 6, 2023. It was

transmitted to and received by the Senate on February 7, 2023, and further
hearings were conducted by the Senate Committee on Basic Education. The
Committee Report was calendared for ordinary business on November 22, 2023.

The suspension of the MTB-MLE is also being considered in Senate Bill (SB) No.
2457, An Act Redefining the Application of the Mother Tongue as Medium of
Instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3, Amending for the Purpose Sections 4 and
5 of RA 10533 by Senator Gatchalian.
xl EDCOM II Year One Report
 17. For DepEd to consider the consultation findings of EDCOM II
in their implementation of the National Learning Recovery
Program.
a. Conduct regular and timely assessments that yield granular data on
learner progress;
b. Group learners according to their level of proficiency rather than
their grade level;
c. Prioritize foundational skills in reading, writing, and numeracy, as well
as socioemotional learning; and
d. Mobilize parents and the community to provide the interventions as
support to teachers.

In parallel with the consultation of existing learning recovery programs

and initiatives of DepEd, EDCOM II Commissioners filed legislation to
provide systematic learning interventions to improve learning outcomes
through the proposed ARAL Program Act, An Act Establishing an
Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program,
Appropriating Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes (SB 1604 by
Senator Gatchalian et al. and HB 8210 by Representative Romulo et al.).

Higher Education

Priority 11a: Access to Quality Education

18. Prioritize the poorest of the poor for the Tertiary Education Subsidy.

EDCOM II proposed a special provision in the GAA 2024 that aims to

reemphasize the prioritization of students from Listahanan 3.0 and the
4Ps categories (GAA FY 2024, Volume I-B, p. 484). This initiative is geared
toward fostering more equitable access to tertiary education, making it imperative
that the implementation of this reprioritization by the Unified Financial Assistance
System for Tertiary Education be closely supervised in the upcoming year. On top
of aligning the targeting mechanisms with the objectives of the Act, a
reassessment of the definition of “access” is also recommended.
Executive Summary xli

19. Imperative to the success of the Universal Access to Quality

Tertiary Education Act is addressing the consequences of Free
Higher
Education through the following recommendations:
a. Provide adequate and rationalized support to public higher education
institutions (HEIs) while considering the pressing concerns of public
financial sustainability;
 b. Strictly monitor the public sector to ensure that it does not exceed
its respective carrying capacities;
c. Take into account the crowding out effect on private higher
education providers to foster complementarity; and
d. Explore alternative financing models (e.g., voucher system and
Student Financial Assistance Programs, or StuFAPs) to enhance
student accessibility to quality education in private HEIs while
simultaneously relieving the crowding out effect.

EDCOM II Commissioners filed SB 360 and HB 7922, amending RA 10931,

or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, to include a
voucher system for qualified private HEIs and technical-vocational
institutions. HB 7922 by Representative Mark Go et al. was approved on the
third reading and transmitted to the Senate on May 24, 2023. SB 1360 by Senator
Chiz Escudero et al. is pending on second reading.

Priority 11b: Quality Assurance

20.For CHED to fast-track the reconstitution of the remaining 83
technical panels to uphold and maintain the quality of programs
offered by HEIs. On top of this, their reconstitution must be monitored in
year 2 so that skills taught to and gained by students meet the
dynamic demands of the labor market.
21. Strengthen the relationship between CHED and accreditation
agencies with clearer terms of engagement to ensure complementarity
between both parties and improve the quality assurance mechanisms in
the
higher education ecosystem. Also, examine constraints to accreditation
of HEIs.
22.Actively review and revise the existing horizontal typology
and aims to develop a system grounded in empirical
evidence that accurately reflects the current characteristics
and diversity of HEIs.
xlii EDCOM II Year One Report

As part of quality assurance initiatives, EDCOM II adopted

Representative Go’s HB 7990, or An Act Strengthening the
Establishment and Operations of HEIs, to improve the external
governance of higher education.

Teacher Education
Priority 16: Alignment of the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and
DepEd (Including the Teacher Education Council) on Teacher
Education and Development
23.Conduct an independent study to assess the PRC’s true level
of policy adoption and scrutinize the validity and reliability of
the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers.

EDCOM II filed HB 8559, which seeks to amend the Teachers

Professionalization Act, or RA 7836. The bill—authored by EDCOM
Commissioners, namely, Representatives Go, Romulo, Benitez, Dimaporo, and
Garcia—was filed on June 22, 2023, and is currently pending with the House
Committee on Civil Service Professional Regulation.

Priority 18: In-Service Training and Development, Including Teacher

Welfare 24.Standardize school staffing and organizational structure to
streamline workload distribution. The provision of an Administrative Officer II at
the school level, while helpful, cannot alleviate all the assigned ancillary tasks for
teachers.
25.Assign the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational
Development as the clearinghouse for school ancillary and
nonteaching tasks. The clearinghouse is tasked with reviewing and
proposing policies and programs and their implications for teacher
workload. Additionally, it will maintain an inventory of official school
processes and tasks
assigned to teachers affecting their workload, make recommendations
for possible streamlining and/or harmonization, and review and
provide recommendations on congressional measures with
implications for teacher workload.
Executive Summary xliii

26.Establish a national Professional Development Information

System (PDIS), a computer-based system to track teachers’
professional development that integrates the HRIS (Human Resource
Information System) with the (a) professional profiles (such as
education degree/s, specialization, and trainings attended), (b)
professional needs; and (c) career stages of teachers and school heads.
27. Review the Human Resource Development Fund’s allocation,
planning, availment, and utilization processes. An evaluation of
the effectiveness and efficiency of the Recognition System of the
National Educators’ Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) is suggested to
examine the implementation of needs assessments on the ground and
assist NEAP in developing a functional PDIS.
 28.Review the quality and responsiveness of preservice teacher
education. Given the changes in the basic education curriculum,
the Policies, Standards, and Guidelines (PSGs) of the different
teacher
education programs need to ensure that the specializations match
the needs of schools and learners.

Technical-Vocational Education
and Training & Lifelong Learning

Priority 20: Industry Involvement and Investment in Upskilling

Programs 29.Review scholarship policies to be more responsive to
the unique needs and challenges faced by TVET (technical-
vocational education and training) learners.
30.Rationalize policies on enterprise-based training.

EDCOM II Commissioners filed SB 363 and HB 7400, or the Enterprise-

Based Education and Training to Employment Act. SB 363, filed by Senator
Joel Villanueva, is currently at the technical working group level; while HB 7400,
authored by Representative Mark Go, was approved on the third reading at the
House of Representatives.
xliv EDCOM II Year One Report

EDCOM II adopted SB 364, or the Lifelong Learning Development

Framework Act, by Senator Villanueva. The bill mandates the development
of a lifelong learning framework to be developed by the Philippine Qualifications
Framework–National Coordinating Council.

EDCOM II adopted HB 7370 by Representative Go, creating a Tripartite

Council. The Tripartite Council introduced in the bill shall formulate policies and
programs to address the job–skills mismatch in the country. It shall be a
coordinating body among the government, academe, and industry sectors to
primarily monitor economic trends in the global and domestic markets. HB 7370
was approved on the third reading on March 21, 2023, and transmitted to the
Senate on March 22, 2023. The Senate Committee on Higher Education has
already adopted the bill on August 1, 2023, and is now waiting for the Committee
Report.

Priority 21: Ensuring Quality in Providing TVET for Better Jobs

 31. Improve data collection processes for a more efficient trainee
tracing system within the TVET sector. Employ robust data collection
mechanisms, potentially incorporating advanced analytics and tracking
technologies, to yield accurate insights into the employment outcomes
and career paths of TVET graduates.
32. Align the Study on the Employment of TVET Graduates data with
the Labor Force Survey (LFS) for seamless tracing. Refine the
wording of questions related to educational attainment and incorporate
Philippine Standard Occupational Classification codes to enhance analysis
and ease the tracing of TESDA program takers. According to TESDA, there
are ongoing discussions with the Philippine Statistics Authority to better
align data collection to accurately capture TVET in the LFS.
33. Develop a centralized management information system of
TESDA that traces the creation, delivery, and lifespan of all
TESDA programs and a similar version for trainees, possibly in
collaboration with the Department of Information and
Communications Technology.
34.Increase funding for training programs and expand scholarship
opportunities to cater to more learners in need. Adequate
funding is fundamental to overcoming financial barriers that often
hinder access to quality vocational training.
Executive Summary xlv

35.Initiate a paradigm shift toward an industry-driven incentive

framework to foster a more conducive environment for industry
participation. The active involvement of industries in designing and
implementing incentive programs ensures that these initiatives align
with their needs and encourages active engagement. In addition,
crucial components of a holistic solution are advocating for increased
funding and developing a comprehensive strategy to gain industry
“buy-in.”

Governance and Finance

Priority 23: Seamless and Integrated Delivery of Education

36.Study the establishment of a national-level coordinating
mechanism. 37. Study how the capacity to exercise oversight of
both the Office of the President and the Legislature could be
strengthened. This would ensure continuous technical support across
political administrations, particularly in tracking the attainment of long-
term targets in
education.
38.Sustain increases in education investments. It is important,
however, to ensure that these resources are allocated in an equitable
 manner, strategically impact learning outcomes (e.g., early childhood
education and nutrition), and utilized on time.
39.Review the Boncodin Formula used to compute the School
MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) budget—
In particular, the different cost drivers of school operational expenses
across varied contexts to ensure that future updates to the formula
are responsive to the needs of schools, as well as equity in resource
allocations.
40.Formulate a framework that guides how the provincial
Special Education Fund (SEF) could complement the
municipal SEF in the
interest of promoting equitable and needs-based allocation.
xlvi EDCOM II Year One Report

Acknowledgements

The Commission would like to thank the members of the

Legislation and Policy Advisory Council for their expertise,
the members of the Standing Committees for their proactive
participation, and the Technical Secretariat for their hard
work and dedication in the past year.

We appreciate the support of our education agencies—

the Department of Education, the Commission on
Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills
 Development Authority—in sharing data, participating and
facilitating our consultations, and providing comments to
this Report.

We also extend our thanks to the Early Childhood Care

and Development Council, the Department of Health,
the National Nutrition Council, the Department of Social
Welfare and Development, the Department of Budget and
Introduction xlvii

Management, the Department of Finance, the Professional

Regulation Commission, and the Philippine Statistics
Authority.

We would also like to acknowledge the Commission’s

research arm, the Philippine Institute for Development
Studies, for their tireless research work. We also commend
the University of the Philippines for reviving the UP
President Edgardo J. Angara Fellowship, as well as De La
Salle University for mobilizing their scholars to support the
work of the Commission.

Likewise, we are grateful to our partners who have

supported and enriched our work: the Asian Development
Bank, the Ateneo de Manila University, the Australian
Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade, the British Embassy Manila, the British Council,
IDinsight, Innovations for Poverty Action, the Metrobank
Foundation, Philippine Business for Education, the
United States Agency for International Development
(specifically, the projects Advancing Basic Education
in the Philippines, Improving Learning Outcomes,
Opportunity 2.0, US-Philippine Partnership for Skills,
Innovation, and Lifelong Learning, and Youthworks PH,
Teach for the Philippines), The World Bank, and the
WeSolve Foundation.

Finally, we wish to express particular appreciation to the

pubishing team of this report, headed by its publisher, Ani
Rosa Almario, PhD, as well as R. Jordan P. Santos, Emylou
V. Infante, Vanessa L. Pamittan, Rosemarie Grace C. Del
Castillo, Benjamin C. Quinajon, Pierre Angelica C. Rañon,
Gian Lao, Mikael Co, Mavreen Jackie P. Yapchiongco,
Bettina Medina-Tapalla, and Luigi C. Conti. Photographs
were contributed by Jilson Tiu and George Calvelo,
assisted by Nica Cellini Catanes, and the office of Senator
Win Gatchalian.
xlviii EDCOM II Year One Report

Introduction

“I wish I could actually spend time teaching” is a common

lament among teachers in the Philippine public school
system. In our many consultations in the past year, teachers
around the country, including Manila, Iloilo, Negros, and
Davao, revealed this widespread concern: that they spent
majority of their work hours doing anything but teaching.
They manage school canteens and school-based feeding
programs, oversee Gulayan sa Paaralan and the National
Drug Education Program, serve as the school’s engineering
administrators and registrars, coordinate the 4Ps (Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program), and even spend approximately
70 out of 220 school days entering data into the DepEd
system1—basically, diverting them from what they aspired to
do and actually studied for: teaching.

1 Based on an analysis conducted by the Analytics Association of the Philippines, which

EDCOM is currently confirming in the studies it is undertaking.
Introduction xlix
 We feared there was a deep-rooted
education crisis in the country, and we
wanted to confirm its existence, as well
as severity. Confirmation would mean it
is time for something more drastic: to
retool the entire education system
because decades of earnest but
incremental reforms still fell short of
what Filipino learners deserved.

The first Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM)

was established to systematically review the problems of
our Education system after the Philippine Government’s
reformation in 1986. This second one, however, stemmed
from our country’s dismal performance in the Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2018. We
feared there was a deep-rooted education crisis in the
country, and we wanted to confirm its existence, as well as
severity. Confirmation would mean it is time for something
more drastic: to retool the entire education system because
decades of earnest but incremental reforms still fell short of
what Filipino learners deserved.

More recently, the 2022 PISA results show that our

performance remains the same. Grade 10 Filipinos scored
lowest among all ASEAN countries in Math, Reading, and
Science, besting only Cambodia (see Figure 1) with more
than 75% of our learners scoring lower than Level 2, or
the minimum level of proficiency in Math, Reading, and
Science. This was the case for most of our schools, public or
private. Alarmingly, data also shows that our best learners
are comparable only to the average student in Malaysia,
Thailand, Brunei, and Vietnam, and correspond to the worst
performers in Singapore.
l EDCOM II Year One Report

FIGURE 1
Asean Performance Overall in PISA 2018 and 2022
Singapore
age a

Vietnam g
e

Malaysia D D

Aver
Brunei Darussalam Thailand A

Indonesia e
r

Philippines
018 0

OEC 2
Cambodia
2

E
C

2 2

350 400 450 Mean Score 500 550

PISA 2018 PISA 2022

Note: Cambodia did not participate in PISA 2018.

If there is anything this report aims to impart on its

readers, it is this: There is an education crisis in the
country.

In 1940, the Commonwealth government made primary

education compulsory. In 1953, as the country recovered
from the Second World War, compulsory education was
extended to Grade 6. We abolished tuition fees in public high
schools in 1989, made Kindergarten compulsory in 2012, and
expanded our basic education system to include Grades 11
and 12 in
2013. Most recently, we eliminated tuition fees in all state
colleges and universities in 2017. While these developments
seem progressive for a developing country, a literature
review
Introduction li

FIGURE 2
Distribution of Scores of the Top 25% on ASEAN Countries in PISA 2022 Overall
 800

700

600

Average
Score
500
300

ASEAN
Overall 200
400

100
PH-Cambodia PH-Indonesia PH-Malaysia PH-Thailand PH-Brunei PH-Vietnam PH-
Singapore Darussalam

Note: The shaded portions in the graph above represent the top 25% of learners in the sample of
the population of every ASEAN country’s learners in the 2022 PISA, averaging their performance
in Math, Reading, and Science.

from these eras reveals persistent fundamental issues,

some dating back to the 1925 Monroe Survey Report—
insufficient classrooms, subpar teaching quality, and
overburdening
teachers with nonteaching tasks.

This report summarizes the initiatives and preliminary

findings of EDCOM II in its first year. Ultimately, as the
Commission
continues its work in the next 2 years, it aims to grasp the
scale of these problems, meet them at their very root, and
propose policies that could solve them once and for all.
lii EDCOM II Year One Report

Some of our most basic education indicators look

encouraging. In the past decade, Kindergarten
participation swelled from only 2.1% in 2013, 2 to 66% in
2021.3 Elementary participation rate has remained above
95% since the 1970s. Secondary participation improved—
going from 65% in the 1980s to 90% in 2015, while our
higher education participation rate of 35% is above
average when compared against other lower-middle
income countries.

The 1987 Constitution mandates that the education sector

receive the biggest proportion of the national budget—and
 in almost four decades since, government investments in
education have increased.

In the last 14 years alone, annual spending on education per

student has nearly tripled, from Php 7,876 to Php 20,834
(PIDS, 2021). In 2022, education investments reached 3.58%
of the GDP, nearing the UNESCO recommendation of 4%.
Despite this, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) estimates that the country’s
cumulative expenditure from age 6 to 15 is only at $11,000,
compared to the OECD average of $75,000 in 2019. Perhaps
the only explanation for such a gulf between the optimistic
seeming PIDS numbers and the pessimistic-seeming OECD
estimates is this: There is simply that much ground to cover.
In other words, though we are still behind now, we are still
much better off than in the past.

Despite numerous efforts to fix all these problems,

the vicious cycle continues. In the 3 decades between
the 2 EDCOMs, we saw the Presidential Commission on
Educational Reform (1998), the Third Elementary Education
Project (1999), the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda
(2006), and most recently, Sulong EduKalidad (2020).
Nonetheless, reforms have not taken root.
2 PSA FLEMMS 2013.
3 UNICEF SEA-PLM Policy Brief 2021, “Harness the potential of early childhood education for
long-term benefits on children’s learning,” based on DepEd 2021 Key Education Statistics.
Introduction liii

Scholars have criticized the sector’s

inability to implement reforms due to
frequent changes in leadership,
resistance to change within the
government, and the agency’s “culture
of obeisance” (Bautista et al., 2008)— a
polite, if inaccessible, term for a
bureaucracy accustomed to jaded
compliance.
This is due to various factors. Scholars have criticized the
sector’s inability to implement reforms due to frequent
changes in leadership, resistance to change within the
government, and the agency’s “culture of obeisance”
(Bautista et al., 2008)—a polite, if inaccessible, term for a
bureaucracy accustomed to jaded compliance. On the other
hand, we must acknowledge our country’s rapid population
growth, and how our demand for education rapidly
outpaced our means to provide it—a recurring theme since
the postwar era (Isidro, 1957).

This challenge is not unique to the Philippines. Many

developing countries are confronted by similar challenges
when trying to expand access to education. But the
universality of this problem does not diminish the harm
inflicted on millions of Filipino learners. We must realize
that participation rates will be meaningless if our students
are unable to add simple numbers and read simple texts,
despite having a diploma. This should prompt a turn toward
quality, not quantity.
liv EDCOM II Year One Report

As we proceed in our work, the

Commission understands that genuine
solutions require the knowledge and
experience of people who are on the
ground, in our schools.

The Philippines has never lacked well-meaning education

advocates or willing, passionate teachers. If this problem could
be solved overnight, then it would have been solved long ago. It
is difficult to identify a problem when everything is a problem—
and the ones that confront us are complex, often requiring not
just technical solutions or money, but also intense political
resolve and cultural shifts. Thus, this second EDCOM has
embarked on its mission guided by the following principles:

Effective diagnosis is a prerequisite for finding adaptive

solutions. Given the urgency of our problem, EDCOM’s
intention is to go through the legislative process as
quickly as possible, and so it frontloads data gathering
 and consultations to inform proposed legislation. We
recruited the country’s top minds to support our work.
Advisory Council and Standing Committee members come
from a broad range of expertises and backgrounds, as the
Commission undertakes 90 research projects in partnership
with the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS)
and our best universities. This enables us to put forward
policies that are grounded on empirical evidence.

Addressing multiple issues simultaneously requires

prioritization. At the onset, the Commission conducted
consultations, and a thorough evaluation of the most
pressing concerns that affect learning outcomes, from
early childhood to higher education. Through this, we
identified 28 priorities that will promote equitable access
while focusing heavily on factors that relate to quality of
Introduction lv

education. Within these 28 priorities, the Commission

has also agreed to first of all tackle issues in building
foundational skills, specifically literacy and numeracy, in Key
Stage 1 (K to 3). For year 1 (2023), EDCOM focused on 12 of
the most urgent reforms.

It should not be about finger pointing. Based on our initial

findings, most of these issues have abided for decades,
across administrations, compounded by sociocultural
realities, and complicated by crisscrossing policies across
government. Instead of pointing fingers, our primary intent is
to understand the problems, and to cut them at their roots.

“Learning does not happen at the Central Office.” This

borrows the wisdom of our Advisory Council Member Fr.
Bienvenido Nebres, SJ. As we proceed in our work, the
Commission understands that genuine solutions require
the knowledge and experience of people who are on the
ground, in our schools.

We have thus conducted, and will continue to hold,

extensive consultations with stakeholders all over the
country. In year 1 alone, the findings are informed by 19
hearings, 12 focused group discussions and 23 site visits.
This included locating and learning from “positive deviants”
in the country, or those that have succeeded in delivering
quality education despite facing similar constraints. This
was paralleled by the release of green papers that aim to
solicit direct inputs from stakeholders and the general
public. To date, 114 submissions have been received and
considered by the Standing Committees.

National-level policies are only one of many levers

to reform. Unlike the context faced by EDCOM I, the
current architecture of the Philippine education system
is already buttressed by many laws and implemented by
multiple agencies of government. There remain instances
where there is a need to rationalize, amend, or fill gaps
lvi EDCOM II Year One Report

While the report shares concrete policy

recommendations that the Commission
has already acted on in the past year—
whether in the form of a bill, advocating
for budget allocations in the 2024
budget, or by collaborating with the
concerned agencies—it also outlines
initial policy directions that will be
deliberated further in year 2.

in legislation, but the Commission is also cognizant

that there are other levers to implement change. These
include budgetary allocations through the annual General
Appropriations Act, refinements to implementing guidelines
issued by agencies, ordinances passed by local government
units, and initiatives of many civil society organizations
committed to improving education quality.

As we share the key findings of the Commission we also note

the following:

These are preliminary findings based on available

data, which provide initial insight on 12 priority areas.
We anticipate further refinement of these findings and
recommendations in the coming years, culminating in our
 final report in year 3.

While the report shares concrete policy recommendations

that the Commission has already acted on in the past
year—whether in the form of a bill, advocating for budget
allocations in the 2024 budget, or by collaborating with the
concerned agencies—it also outlines initial policy directions
that will be deliberated further in year 2.
Introduction lvii

The report should thus be seen as a snapshot of where we

are in our work in EDCOM and as an education system at this
point. The Commission reserves the right to improve on and
update its findings as new data is found in years 2 and 3, and
as the concerned agencies act on these concerns.

Our mission would not have been possible without the

collaboration of DepEd, CHED, and TESDA. We are grateful
for their support as we pursue our mutual goal of improving
the quality of education in our country.

It is crucial to maintain perspective and restraint. It is

easy to be occupied as we enact simpler, symptomatic
solutions; but it is imperative that we keep sight of the
broader, structural reforms that EDCOM is mandated to
address. Strategic focus is thus critical for the Commission
to confront the systems-level challenges effectively.

This report confirms that there is an education crisis. The

challenges are immense, but the clarity regarding these
challenges strengthens our resolve.

We cannot continue with business as usual. Business

as usual translates to teachers being overburdened with
nonteaching tasks and students unable to reach their full
potential, among other adverse circumstances. A reimagined
approach to education in the Philippines is imperative, and
the time to act is now.

Karol Mark R. Yee, PhD

Executive Director
EDCOM II
lviii EDCOM II Year One Report
 Priority Areas

In late January, the Commission began to formulate key

Priority Areas that required attention. By March, these
Priority Areas had been refined into 28 key items and
organized based on the Standing Committees and their
respective Sub-committees. Throughout year 1, each
Standing Committee and its Sub-committee selected and
focused on 12 priority areas, which are highlighted in a
distinct color in the table.
Priority Areas lix
Priority Areas Issues and Imperatives

Early Childhood Care and Development

1. Nutrition and feeding • Challenges in governance, implementation, and resourcing of

health and nutrition
programs
• Aligning incentives to address challenges /
look into quality

2. Supply-side factors • Lack of child development centers to attain universal coverage of

ECCD
• Producing high quality child development
workers/teachers
• Materials and resources for ECE

3. Demand-side factors • Understanding barriers that relate to parental perceptions and

engagement in ECCD

4. Governance and financing of ECCD • Mechanism of finance

• Addressing governance challenges
Basic Education

5. Learning resources • Textbook development, production, and distribution

• Using media to enhance learning

6. Measurement of learning outcomes • Adequacy of the assessment system to track

learners’ progress and inform system
reforms
• Reporting and utilization of assessment
results for improving learning outcomes

7. Curriculum and instruction • Medium/language of instruction

• Validation of the K to 10 (and eventually
11 to 12) curriculum toward decongestion,
encouraging flexibility and innovation, and
reviewing the spiral curriculum

8. School infrastructure • Inventory of facilities (public and private) • Strategies to

address the gaps
 9. Alternative Learning System (ALS) • Access and delivery
• Curriculum content, quality, and assessment
toward preparing learners for employment
lx EDCOM II Year One Report

10. Home and school environment • Safe, secure, conducive, and supportive learning
environment
• Improved mechanisms for partnerships and
shared accountability between families,
schools, and communities
Higher Education

11. Access to quality higher education • Developing CHED’s regulatory framework to

enhance its developmental and regulatory
functions
• Strengthening of academe–industry linkages
• Ensuring that improved access to higher
education is access to quality higher
education
• Enhancing the quality of higher education
programs (quality in terms of enhancing
learning outcomes and program relevance)

Quality assurance • Articulating the current Philippine QA system in general and higher
education in particular,
delineating the government functions and
voluntary QA bodies and recommending the
governance of QA in education
• Contextualizing the current Philippine QA
system within the QA models/systems of other
countries/regions
• Institutionalizing internal and external quality
assurance / quality assurance of academic
programs and administrative processes
• Developing and institutionalizing an empirically
grounded horizontal typology and a vertical
typology based on the agreed-upon horizontal
typology and a review of the prevailing criteria
for the grant of autonomous and deregulated
status to private higher education institutions
(HEIs) and the leveling of state universities
and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and
colleges (LUCs)
• Aligning the learning outcomes of higher
education qualifications with the Philippine
Qualifications Framework

12. Efficiency of public and private higher education provision 14. Digital transformation and educational technologies
• Developing a framework for the establishment and (crosscutting)
sustainability of existing HEIs, especially LUCs
• Clarifying the complementarity principle and developing a
framework to guide its implementation to address the
substantial challenges faced by private HEIs
• Building leadership capacity in SUCs and LUCs

15. Internationalization of higher education (crosscutting)

Priority Areas lxi

13. Graduate education, research, and innovation

• Enhancing the quality and uptake of graduate education in sustainable development goal (SDG) targets
the country
• Addressing the constraints to quality
• Addressing constraints to the

research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in

research universities
• Building capacity for research translation into
innovations/technologies and supporting S&T
parks, start-ups, and social enterprises

• Establishing the infrastructure for digital

transformation, research clouds, and

internationalization of students and faculty

• Reviewing the country’s transnational

educational technologies
• Enhancing access to educational technologies and
mechanisms for sharing resources
• Establishing smart campuses aligned with

education policy in RA 11448

• Reviewing and addressing the issues related
to global rankings

Teacher Education and Development

16. Alignment of CHED, the PRC, DepEd (including the education and development
TEC) on teacher • Alignment of CHED, the PRC, DepEd on teacher
education and development
 17. Preservice education • Gaps in preservice training • Quality of teacher education
institutions
• Encouraging more students to enter the
teaching profession
• Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET) / licensing
of teachers

18. In-service training and development • Teacher welfare

• Training and development of teachers and
school heads
Technical-Vocational Education & Training (TVET) and Lifelong Learning

19. Needs-based system projecting the demands in 21. Ensuring quality in the provision
workers’ upskilling of TVET

22. Framework for equivalency and

20. Industry involvement and recognition of nonformal and
investment in upskilling informal learning
• Understanding current and future “middle skill” needs
of the country
• Understanding the future generation of the Filipino
workforce

• Understanding the labor market outcomes of TVET

graduates • Ensuring quality assurance in TVET • Rationalizing
• Encouraging companies to invest in upskilling of workers TVET provision and support (by TESDA, LGUs, and
and offer enterprise-based training and apprenticeship private TVIs)
programs
• Reconsidering rural industry development
lxii EDCOM II Year One Report • Lifelong learning framework

Governance and Finance

23. Ensuring seamless and integrated delivery of • Lack of effective coordination among education agencies
education toward agreed-upon goals • Using measures of quality to
ensure attainment of agreed-upon goals

• Lack of clarity on the government’s primary roles •

Education delivery strategy informed by public and private
absorptive capacity across all levels of education
24. Complementarity between public and private • Expanding Government Assistance to Students and
education Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE)

• Lack of integrated ecosystem performance management

system where funding is tied to performance versus
student outcomes

25. Integrated performance

• Efficiency in education finance and resource mobilization
management and accountability system
• Equity in the delivery of education and the extent that the
needs of vulnerable sectors are addressed
26. Efficiency and equity in financing, resource
mobilization, and delivery of education
• Highly centralized governance structure results in limited
participation of local government and stakeholders in
education governance, and lack of agility and innovation
in the system
27. Decentralization and participatory governance • Participation of education stakeholders (students,
• Lack of a coherent plan/road map/vision for the parents, community, NGOs, CSOs, business sector and
education sector industries, LGUs, NGAs, and development partners) in
education governance

Crosscutting
 28. Connectedness of learner
pathways throughout the system

Priority Areas 1

Year 1 Findings 3

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND

DEVELOPMENT ECCD: The

Critical Window
for Holistic
Development
 Early childhood care and development (ECCD) is a critical component
in the holistic development of children aged 0 to 8 years,
encompassing rapid physical, mental, and socioemotional growth (UNESCO,
2023). Prioritizing ECCD is essential for laying the foundation for lifelong
learning, reducing inequities, and positively influencing future life outcomes.
A substantial portion of the Philippine population falls within the early
childhood stage. As of 2020, the country’s population stood at 109,033,245,
with 18.4%, or 20,030,089, being children aged 0 to 8 years; and 10.2%, or
11,069,479, falling in the 0 to 4 years age bracket. Given that these children
make up nearly a fifth of the population, emphasizing the importance of
ECCD has become a top priority in the nation.
4 EDCOM II Year One Report

This critical window is widely

acknowledged as the most strategic
and efficient means to address
persistent inequities (Nores, 2020;
World Bank, 2013).

During these formative years, a comprehensive array of services

encompassing education, care, health, nutrition, and social protection
(Zubairi & Rose, 2017) is essential to bolster a child’s growth in 4 pivotal
domains: physical, cognitive, linguistic, and socioemotional (World Bank,
2013). Recognizing the outsized influence these early years exert on future
life outcomes—such as reducing school dropout rates, enhancing learner
achievement, boosting labor market participation, and diminishing the
likelihood of poverty, this critical window is widely acknowledged as the most
strategic and efficient means to address persistent inequities (Nores, 2020;
World Bank, 2013).

Consistent with the recommendations of the Second Congressional

Commission on Education (EDCOM II), it is emphasized that young children
aged 0 to 8 years require proper nutrition, early education, and responsive
caregiving to unfold their full potential. The study on ECCD by the Philippine
Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) (2023) identifies key program
components crucial for ensuring that each child is well-prepared for success
in life: (a) access to high-quality early education, (b) adequate health care,
nutrition, and responsive caregiving, and (c) a safe and secure environment.

The Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028 outlines a strategy framework

to enhance education and lifelong learning, with a focus on promoting
human and social development (see Figure 1). In Outcome 1, which aims to
 achieve quality, inclusive, adaptive, resilient, and future-ready basic
education for all, a key initiative involves enhancing the ECCD curriculum,
particularly focusing on the first 1,000 days of life. Additional strategies to
attain this outcome include ensuring the comprehensive implementation of
ECCD services, providing capacity building for child development teachers,
and introducing nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions in
early childhood.
Early Childhood Care and Development 5

FIGURE 1
Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 Strategy
Framework to Improve Education and Lifelong Learning

ENSURE TRANSFORMATIVE LIFELONG

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

PROMOTE HUMAN AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOP AND PROTECT CAPABILITIES

OF INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES

Quality, inclusive, adaptive, • Design and implement future-ready technical- • Harmonize the
vocational education and training (TVET) programs trifocalized system of education for
resilient, and future-ready basic • Implement structural reforms in local universities lifelong learning
education and colleges (LUCs) to strengthen linkages with • Strengthen school based management • Develop
TVET communities and improve learning materials in line with
for all achieved international standards and trends • Rationalize
workload of teachers
• Increase involvement/participation of industry and • Design a higher education career
private sector in TVET system
• Improve enterprise-based training and bolster
microcredentials
• Partner with
independent third party institutions
• Pursue transnational knowledge cocreation in assessing and
linkages with HEIs
monitoring the
• Enhance Early Childhood Care and Development • Optimize the roles of universities as innovation
hubs and incubation centers progress of students’ proficiency across all levels
(ECCD) curriculum
• Develop and implement catch-up programs to • Establish regional university systems • Provide
address learning losses • Ensure access to quality more research-oriented scholarships and grants
learning resources • Effectively implement online and blended learning
• Improve competencies of teachers modalities
• Strengthen school-based feeding program to • Develop alternative assessment and certification
address malnutrition methods
• Improve student support to ensure student
success
• Strengthen private-public complementarity in the Governance for human capital
provision of quality basic education
• Adopt modern learning spaces development
Globally competitive and inclusive improved
TVET and higher education, and
improved research output attained
for a broader knowledge economy
6 EDCOM II Year One Report Early Childhood Care and Development 7
“What is one of the best ways a country
can boost shared prosperity, promote
inclusive economic growth, expand
equitable opportunity, and end extreme
poverty? The answer is simple: Invest in
early childhood development.”
—World Health Organization, 2018
8 EDCOM II Year One Report

For ECCD, in particular, research

suggests that every $1 invested in the
early years could yield returns as high
as $17 for the most disadvantaged
children (Zubairi & Rose, 2017).

The Philippines has demonstrated its long-standing commitment to

ECCD through legislative measures. From a policy standpoint, the
rationale is hard to dispute: investing in the crucial early years not only
enhances outcomes in both the short and long term, but also diminishes
the social costs associated
with later interventions (Nores, 2020). Moreover, due to the early nature of
these investments, the returns are significantly higher. For ECCD, in
particular, research suggests that every $1 invested in the early years could
yield returns as high as $17 for the most disadvantaged children (Zubairi &
Rose, 2017).

The Philippines has demonstrated a dedicated commitment to advancing

human development by enacting legislation that supports ECCD. Dating back
to 1978, Presidential Decree No. 1567, also known as the Barangay Day Care
Center Law of 1978, institutionalized the establishment of day care centers in
every barangay in the Philippines catering to Filipino children aged 0 to 6
years.

Sec 2. That a day care shall be established in every barangay

with at least one hundred (100) family heads

Sec 3. Said day care will look after the nutritional, social, and
mental development of children from ages 2 to 5 when parents are
unable to

Sec 4. Said day care will be staffed with one (1) female day care
 nursery worker

Sec 5. Said day care should be accredited by the Bureau of Family

and Child Welfare of the DSWD.

(Presidential Decree No. 1567, 1978)

Early Childhood Care and Development 9

Republic Act (RA) No. 6972, also known as the Barangay-Level Total
Development and Protection of Children Act of 1990, endorsed the directive
to establish day care centers in every barangay under the direct supervision
of local government units (LGUs) in coordination with the Department of
Social Work and Development (DSWD). According to the findings from the
1991 EDCOM, early childhood education was primarily accessed by children
of higher socioeconomic status. In response, EDCOM recommended
government support for ECCD centers, especially those in rural and
economically depressed areas, to ensure equal opportunities for ECCD
(Congressional Commission on Education, 1991).

This recommendation received further backing decades later through RA

8980, known as the ECCD Act of 2000. This legislation institutionalized a
National Early Learning Framework to provide guidance for the
implementation of ECCD services across the country. Later, RA 10410, or the
Early Years Act (EYA) of 2013, delineated the first stage of early childhood
(from conception to 4 years of age) under the purview of the ECCD Council.
The ECCD Council, currently comprised of entities such as the Department
of Education (DepED), the Department of Health (DOH), the National
Nutrition Council (NNC), the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines
(ULAP), the DSWD, and the ECCD Secretariat, along with a private ECCD
partner, oversees this responsibility. The entire early childhood stage was
comprehensively addressed with the passage of RA 10157, also known as
the Kindergarten Education Act of 2012, which, a year prior, mandated
compulsory kindergarten education for all 5-year-old Filipino children.
10 EDCOM II Year One Report

Early childhood education is widely

recognized as fundamental to
building “more efficient and effective
education systems” (UNICEF, 2019c:
6), with current studies highlighting
 the importance of at least 2 years of
free preprimary education
(Zubairi & Rose, 2017).

Early childhood education is widely recognized as fundamental to building

“more efficient and effective education systems” (UNICEF, 2019: 6), with
current studies highlighting the importance of at least 2 years of free
preprimary education (Zubairi & Rose, 2017). This recognition is based on
research indicating that engagement in preprimary education can serve as
a preventative measure against special education needs, grade repetition,
early parenthood, and involvement in delinquent behaviors leading to
incarceration—outcomes that would otherwise incur substantial costs for
the government to address or support (Center for High Impact Philanthropy,
2017). In light of these findings, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
target ensures that “all girls and boys have access to quality early
childhood development, care, and preprimary education so that they are
ready for primary education” by 2030.

The Philippines legislates early childhood education as part of the basic and
early childhood care and development system through RA 10410, RA 9155,
RA 10157, and RA 10533 (see Table 1).
Early Childhood Care and Development 11

TABLE 1
Philippine Basic and Early Childhood Education System

ECCD Programs (Voluntary)

Center based program

ECCD Council;
Early Preschool LGUs
Stimulation
RA 10410
Infant Pre-K1 Pre-K2
Toddler
Early
Developm
ent Senior
Secondary (G11-12)
0-2 yos 3 yos 4 yos

1 hour, once 2-2.5 2-2.5

a week, over hours hours
10 months daily, daily,
over 10 over 10
months months
 Age group 17-18 yos

Duration
of program

Responsible
govt. agency

Legislation

Source: Early Childhood Education Advisory Services and Analytics (ECE ASA) Report
(World Bank, 2023)

Following the national policies that established ECCD in the Philippines,

Filipino children aged 0 to 4 have—on paper—access to ECCD programs and
services through 2 primary avenues (see Table 2). First, center-based
programs encompass different facilities, including national child development
centers (NCDCs), child development centers (CDCs), and child-minding
centers. Second, home-based programs offer diverse options, such as
neighborhood based or community-based playgroups, family child care
programs, parent education, and home visits, as outlined in RA 8980.
12 EDCOM II Year One Report

TABLE 2
Types of Public ECCD Programs in the Philippines

Type of Program Center Based

2014– 2018 2019
2017

National child
(Public Only) Number of Established Centers
600 684

74,189 43,480 n.a.

112

development center 854

Day care center /

Child development center34,043 Child-minding center 5,978

Home Based
(Public Only)
 Neighborhood-based playgroups
(supervised neighborhood play) 5,345

Note: The National Child Development Center (NCDC) is the community-based flagship program of the ECCD
Council, and serves as a center-based venue for the delivery of integrated ECCD resources and services (ECCD
Council, 2024).

Source: Early Childhood Education Advisory Services (ECE ASA) Report (World Bank, 2023)

Currently, the largest population of 0 to 4 children engaged in public ECCD

programs in the country predominantly frequents day care centers, or child
development centers. However, a decrease in participation can be observed
from 2020 to 2021, a trend that can be attributed to the challenges posed
by the COVID-19 pandemic (see Table 3).
Early Childhood Care and Development 13

TABLE 3
ECCD-IS and NETIS Data on Enrollment in Public CDCs
for SY 2019-2020 to SY 2022-2023
2020 Enrollment
Populati in Public
on (PSA Institutions
Census)
SY SY SY SY
2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23

6,554,582 No data 431 265 219

4,514,897 697,367 838,223 1,262,672 592,614

11,069,479 697,367 838,654 1,262,937 592,833

1,279,827 7,409 86,568 110,305 26,471

Age GroupAverage Enrollment

Rate (%)

0–2 Below 0.0% 3–4 19% Total (0–4) 8%

of which
NCR 5%

Note: Early Childhood Care and Development Information System (ECCD-IS) is a database operated by
the DSWD that tracks all children receiving ECCD services from the department. NCDC Enrollment
Tracking and Information System (NETIS) is a database operated by the ECCD Council that tracks
existing NCDCs, enrollment, LGU partners, and NCDC child development teachers (CDTs).

Source: Early Childhood Education Advisory Services and Analytics (ECE ASA) Report (World Bank, 2023).
 “Good nutrition can affect how young children
fare in school. Research has shown that
effective early childhood nutrition
interventions lower the age of school start,
improve reading comprehension and
nonverbal cognitive ability test results, and
boost the chance of earning more later in life.”
— Valerie Gilbert T. Ulep, Lyle Daryll D. Casas, and Suzy M. Taparan, “Starting
Strong: Why Early Childhood Care and Development Matters in the
Philippines,” Policy Notes, PIDS-EDCOM II (2022)
14 EDCOM II Year One Report Early Childhood Care and Development 15
16 EDCOM II Year One Report

In addition to addressing early childhood education needs, recent policy

recommendations advocate for investments in health and nutrition, particularly
emphasizing early stimulation from conception through early childhood.
Noteworthy among these initiatives are RA 11148, also known as the Kalusugan
at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act, or the First 1,000 Days (F1KD) Law of 2018; and
RA 11037, the Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act of 2017. These
legislative measures were enacted with the explicit goal of addressing nutrition
needs in the country, fortuitously occurring just a few years prior to the onset of
the pandemic. The EDCOM II–IDInsight Policy Brief reveals the triple burden of
malnutrition (i.e., undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and overnutrition) in
the Philippines. Current prevalence rates for under-5 stunting, wasting, and
underweight stand at 26.7%, 16.8%, and 5.5%, respectively; and 1 in 5 children
is born with low birth weight (LBW) (see Figure 2).

FIGURE 2
Malnutrition Trends in the Philippines
for Children Under Age Five, 1987–2021

50
43.3
40.9
38.9

29.3 38.3 33.8 33.4

32 33.1
30

29.8

29.9 28.3 21.4 26

26.3 20.6 20.7 20.2 .7
 9.1 19.9 16
.8

5.7 8 7.6 5.
6.9 6 6.6 7 6.8
5
8.8

40

30

20

10

0
1990 2000 2010 2020 Stunting Wasting Underweight

Source: UNICEF (n.d.) for years 1987–2015; DOST–FNRI for year 2021
Early Childhood Care and Development 17

The significance of proper nutrition during the initial 1,000 days of life
cannot be overstated, as it plays a pivotal role in ensuring optimal child
development. Moreover, investing in nutrition “produces learners who are
likely to complete school, reach their learning potential, and live productive
lives” (Ulep et al., 2023).

Priority 1:
Nutrition and Feeding
The impact of nutrition and feeding on the cognitive, physical, and social
and emotional development of children is strongly associated with their
ability to become receptive to learning, and to form positive relationships
with the people around them (Sorhaindo & Feinstein, 2006; Sridhar, 2008).
As highlighted in the policy brief published by IDinsight and EDCOM II
(2024), it emphasizes that “inadequate nutrition during this period leads to
irreversible effects on physical and cognitive growth, as well as long-term
consequences for future educational attainment, earning ability, and overall
quality of life.”
 Data from the World Bank show that children who are nutritionally at-risk
have the potential to bridge developmental gaps and cultivate resilience
through early interventions in stimulation and proper nutrition, as
demonstrated in a comprehensive 2-year study of stunted children in
Jamaica (Grantham McGregor et al., 1997). The results of the study highlight
the critical link between nutrition and education especially in early
childhood. Beyond this critical time frame, the adverse consequences are
enduring and pose challenges for later compensatory measures in childhood
(EDCOM II, 2023, Jun 15).
18 EDCOM II Year One Report

FIGURE 3
Effects of Early Childhood Supplementation With and Without
Stimulation on Later Development in Stunted Jamaican
Children

Development quotient
110

105

100

95

90

6 12 18 24 Months
85
Children of normal height
Baseline
Stimulation and nutritional
supplement

Source: Grantham-McGregor et al., 1997

Stimulation Control group Nutritional supplement

While initial interventions in accordance with Philippine laws align with

global standards (see Table 4), there exists a notable gap in coverage, and
the implementation remains fragmented across various agencies and
between national and local governments.
Early Childhood Care and Development 19
 TABLE 4
Legislative Coverage for Nutrition Policies
6–24 Months 3–5 Years Old

0–6 Months 5 Years Old

RA 11148 of 2018: First 1,000 Days Law Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act
RA 11037 of 2018:

Breastfeeding and
nutrition counseling and Only 13% of This
provision of nutritious food children aged feed
and meals at the facility for 6–23 months supp
mothers; provision of met the MAD
micronutrient supplements in 2018; poor
including iron, folic acid, children
vitamin A, and other were deficient
micronutrients deemed in protein
(Jaquier
dietary supplementation of et al., 2020).
age appropriate and
nutrient-dense quality
complementary food

School-based feeding: for

complementary feeding:• Only about half

of the children
aged 0–5 months
• (54.9%) were
exclusively
breastfed in 2018
severely wasted and wasted students in public schools (K to
necessary; 6)
•
 (FNRI, 2018).
program and

Abbreviations: MAD = minimum acceptable diet, FNRI = Food and Nutrition Research Institute
20 EDCOM II Year One Report