A new report by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) shows that despite increased access to early childhood education since 2000, 12-year data up to 2022 shows that fewer than half of all children aged 3 to 4 years old attended preschool.
The report, in collaboration with state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said that the long term benefits of enrolling children in preschool are well documented, as studies that show children who did not enroll in preschool “have higher chances of dropping out and lower chances of attaining upper levels of schooling.”
Meanwhile, UNICEF’s 2019 analysis of a 2019 international assessment found that children who attended just one year of early education programs were “seven times more likely” to have mastered the fundamental reading skills expected by the end of elementary school and “four times more likely” to have learned the same for mathematics.
EDCOM II said that the Philippines – a country where learning poverty is at 91 percent – still struggles to reap the gains from early childhood education due to parents’ lack of knowledge about why their children should go to school at 3 years old, as well as limited and inaccessible daycare or child development centers in rural areas.
As a result, participation rates have remained stagnant from 2011 to 2024, with any modest gains derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2022, only 20 percent of children aged 3-4 years old were enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs.
According to a 2019 survey among parents, financial constraints and availability of early education programs make up only a tiny portion of parents’ overall reasoning, as even though some parents may want to enroll their children, concerns remain on the poor upkeep of facilities, while several poor municipalities still do not have one.
EDCOM II also noted that enrolling in daycare centers may not be entirely free, as almost half of those attending pay participation fees.
Additionally, there are not enough daycare or child development workers, arguably the most important component in delivering pre-kindergarten services.
Any learning crisis, such as the acute one that the Philippines is unfortunate enough to be going through, will usually have multiple causes, which mean complicated solutions. As the EDCOM II has pointed out, it starts as early as childhood education, which is obviously something our education officials have been ignoring.
Hopefully our government gets to work on such basic problems and come up with solutions, instead of wasting efforts on resurrecting the Reserve Officers Training Corps, which has no documented benefits when it comes to improving the quality of education in any country.*
