Font size: 
Two of these goals are related to education: Achieving universal primary education and achieving gender parity. This is intended to ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary education. This also aims to eliminate gender disparity preferably by 2005 and no later than 2015.
The most recent Philippine assessment report in 2005 revealed that these goals for education are the least likely to be attained in contrast to the other MDGs, which were rated with high to medium probability of attainment.
Two of the 17 indicators closely being monitored pertain to the MDGs for education: elementary participation rate and cohort survival rate -- meaning the percentage of children who complete their elementary schooling out of those who initially enrolled.
Government statistics show that for the last six years there was a steady increase in total school enrollment, but there was also an increasing proportion of elementary school-age children who remained out of school. In the 2005-2006 school year, almost 65 percent of six-year old children did not begin their primary education on time.
The cohort survival rate was placed at 76 percent in 2001 but it went down to 70 percent last year. The completion rate was 75 percent in 2001 but it also went down to 68 percent last year. The drop-out rate and repetition rate also deteriorated in the last six years.
An independent study by scholars and civil society organizations revealed interesting but disturbing facts. For example, children entering Grade 1 are older than expected. Drop-out rates in Grade 1-3 are highest among "right age kids" while drop-out rates from Grade 5 onwards are highest for "overage kids," especially among the boys. Boys leave school faster than girls. Children who attend pre-school are more likely to finish the full education cycle. As expected, malnutrition was noted as a factor among many who drop out of school.
The Philippine case highlights the need to fine tune the indicators used in measuring the progress report of MDGs for education. Monitoring the number of pupils who come in from grades 1 to 6 and the pupils who leave schools at every grade level are also important. Monitoring quality and accountability is also necessary in reporting the status of primary schooling.
Scholars stress that a child should be able to read by Grade 3 after having finished the universal elementary school period. For Grades 4-6, it is critical to raise the level of functional literacy of the children especially on numeracy, science and reading comprehension.
Educators point out the declining impact of years of low spending on education as manifested by the nominal increases in the annual budget of education agencies relative to the increases in the number of primary school entrants. The budget for the education sector is way below the international benchmark which is set at 18-20 percent of the national budget or about 6 percent of the gross national product.
Education policies need to be reviewed. What happened to the decentralization of the governance of basic education? Can the government clarify and harmonize its language policy especially concerning the use of a child's native language in the first two grades of basic education?
Policymakers can be asked to pursue the organization of free pre-school as part of the formal ladder of education across the country. Funding support should prioritize disadvantaged schools and those with substantial indigenous populations.
How will the School Feeding Program and other health intervention programs effectively address malnutrition and hunger among school-age kids? Is it really advisable to distribute sacks of rice rather than provide actual food like vegetables and milk in schools? Early this year, opposition politicians warned that the rice distribution program could be used to divert public funds into the election campaign expenses of administration politicians.
Education officials need to account for the missing textbooks and CD teaching materials they should have delivered to remote towns. Corruption remains pervasive in the procurement of learning materials. A mismanaged and underfunded bureaucracy will never produce positive learning outcomes nor achieve the MDGs for education.
Improving education is not just about producing the skilled graduates needed to compete in a globalized economy. It is about fulfilling the basic rights of every individual. Education uplifts human dignity and the capacity to realize every individual's potential.
The MDGs provide a good framework to gauge the performance of Philippine education. Sadly, the figures validate that basic education remains inequitable and inaccessible, especially for the marginalized sectors of the population. But it is still possible to save Philippine education. Hopefully, the stakeholders and government will realize the impending social catastrophe if the education crisis is not solved in due time.
--
(Mong Palatino is a youth activist, Global Voices correspondent and news editor of Yehey!, a Philippine-based web portal. He can be reached at mongpalatino@gmail.com. His Web site is www.mongpalatino.motime.com. ©Copyright Mong Palatino.)
