Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on email
Email

Learning poverty and crisis

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on email
Email

A recent report released by the World Bank highlighted how school closures and other disruptions have sharply increased learning poverty worldwide. Unfortunately for the Philippines, it was highlighted as among the countries with the highest learning poverty worldwide, even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

It cited 2019 data showing 90.9 percent of Filipino children “unable to read and understand a simple passage by age 10.”

“Without urgent action to reduce learning poverty, we face a learning and human capital catastrophe,” read the report.

The WB recommended a RAPID framework to address the learning crisis. These include reaching every child and keeping them in school; assessing learning levels regularly; prioritizing the teaching of fundamentals; increasing the efficiency of instruction; including through catch-up learning and develop psychosocial health and well-being.

In response to the scathing WB report, the Department of Education recently reiterated its commitment to addressing “learning losses” of Filipino students following school closures and the shift to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DepEd spokesperson Micheal Poa said the present administration’s plan is anchored on the four pillars of the Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) 2030: access, equity, quality and resiliency.

According to Poa, access includes infrastructure that provides education to students, in the form of classrooms and facilities. Equity involves providing schools with proper funding regardless of location. Quality means improving learning materials and upskilling, reskilling and training teachers. Resilience refers to the sector’s response to calamities or problems like the coronavirus pandemic.

Data rarely lies and the figures confirm that the Philippines is truly in the midst of a learning crisis. What the DepEd does now will determine the course of an entire generation of Filipinos. At this point, we can only hope that the focus of those who can chart that future isn’t just on bringing back the defunct ROTC program.*

ARCHIVES

Read Article by date

March 2024
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Get your copy of the Visayan Daily Star everyday!

Avail of the FREE 30-day trial.