According to the periodic Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Study (FLEMMS) conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority, an estimated 18.9 million Filipinos who completed secondary education between 2019 and 2014 may be considered “functional illiterate” as they still have problems with reading comprehension despite years of schooling.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the results of the FLEMMS should jolt policymakers into working together to come up with a national strategy to address “the gravity of our situation now,” saying the problem on basic literacy is one of the factors behind the high poverty incidence in several provinces.
By his own estimate using the PSA data and other available information, the senator said that as of last year about 24.82 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 were considered functional illiterate, or individuals who could read, write, and compute but could not understand what they read. Another 5.86 million Filipinos in the same age group are “basic illiterate” or unable to read, write, and compute.
According to educator Lynn Pinugu, “in more concrete terms, someone who is considered functional illiterate has very basic reading and writing skills but is unable to apply them effectively in every situation and context.”
“For example, they may be able to write their full name, but they cannot properly fill out a job application or understand complex written instructions,” she added.
PSA assistant national statistician Adrian Cerezo said only 79 percent of senior high school graduates in 2024 were functionally literate, which means that one out of five of such graduates cannot comprehend or understand a simple story.
An educational system that produces graduates where a significant percentage are classified as functional illiterates cannot be allowed to continue wreaking havoc on a nation’s future. Whatever programs or decisions that allowed the situation to become this drastic have to be reversed post haste, before the damage becomes generational and today’s leaders doom an entire generation of Filipinos to mediocrity and illiteracy.
The Department of Education has to take the lead in reversing this trend, but it will need the support of the whole of government, from other national agencies, to the House of Representatives, and the executive branch.*
