A POLICY BRIEF REGARDING THE LACK OF EDUCATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Education should be a right to every person in this planet however, there has been lack of quality
education or even lack of education too different parts of the world. There are many barriers to
education and those are lack of funding, teachers, infrastructures, learning materials, inclusivity,
and expenses of education. This is especially true in rural areas with opportunities thus, there
should be an education for all. Education could get people far from what they are in the present
and it is one of the defining factors of their future.

I. INTRODUCTION
Every human being has basic human rights. It could start from the right of information, right to
free speech, press, to assembly, religion, and even education. However, it is apparent today that
the human rights to education is not right but merely a privilege. Thus, one of the agendas of the
Sustainable Development goals focuses on education, which is the SDG 4 or the right to ensure
inclusive, and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning and opportunities for all.
While Education might be a simple thing to some, Education can be of great impact to a person’s
life for it plays a huge role in the formation of his/her future.

Challenges are apparent for people who lack proper education. To illustrate, status quo today
shows how the demands in skills, educational access, educational attainment, and advance
technologies have been progressing. Unlike for the past decades that advanced skills regarding a
certain profession is not a requirement is now a necessity in order to land a job.

Education is one of the key factors which helps people in combating their challenges in the future.
By investing in people, education is a powerful driver of development and one of the strongest
instruments for reducing poverty (WORLD Bank, 2008). In brief, education should be a right, not
a privilege, and be priority for the future and other goals are connected to education and it will
help in alleviating not only the rate of literacy of the people but also the people in the poverty line.

II. RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS

The 1987 Philippine Constitution have given great importance to the education of each and every
Filipinos thus, it guarantees the right to education of every Filipino and as stated on the constitution
“The state shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and
shall take appropriate steps to make education accessible to all”. Specifically, there are 2 republic
acts which takes into account education which are Republic Act 9155 or the Governance of Basic
Education Act of 2001 and Republic Act 6655 or Free Secondary Education Act. Supporting the
statement, the government, as required by the constitution, have given the highest budget for the
Department of Education (UNESCO, 2015).

A POLICY BRIEF REGARDING THE LACK OF EDUCATION MIKAEL LOIS M. ALFONSO (3CE-A)
Basic Learning Needs shall be met for all by various means. The statement was declared on
Jomtien, Thailand on 1990. As a follow-up to the world declaration, the Philippines made a 10-
year plan for education which cover the years 1991-2000. It focuses on the Early Childhood
development, Universalization of Quality Primary Education, and Alternative Learning Systems.
Furthermore, after 2000, Philippines adapted the Goals from the World Education Forum in Dakar
which is basically about achieving 50% improvement levels in the literacy rate of the Filipinos.
Thereafter, reforms in the curriculum from preschool until tertiary education happened, not only
the curriculum but there are also series of teacher development programs to ensure the delivery
quality of the learnings. All these are act that covers the advancement of the literacy rate and
ensuring that quality of education which the people will have.

Programs and Implementations of law does not only happen in the Philippines but it also happens
world-wide. The United Nations have established an international benchmark regarding the
allocation of at least 4-6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and/or at least 15-20 percent of
the total public expenditure of each country to education in order to meet the SDG 4 or quality
education. This implementation would help the funding be greater thus increasing resources to
achieve quality education for all.

III. CURRENT FINDINGS ON THE RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS

Changes have been apparent due to the efforts of the government and shown below is the Net
enrollment ratio and completion rate of the Urban-Rural classification in Elementary Schools.

Figure 1. Net Enrolment Ratio by Urban-Rural Classification in Elementary Schools (Yr. 2002
and 2005)

Figure 2. Completion rate by Urban-Rural Classification in Elementary School

A POLICY BRIEF REGARDING THE LACK OF EDUCATION MIKAEL LOIS M. ALFONSO (3CE-A)
Based on UNESCO, poor performance completion rate of rural area is caused of the incomplete
schools in rural areas. Furthermore, below is the graph containing information of the completion
rate between private and public schools.

Figure 3. Completion Rate by Public-Private Classification in Elementary Schools

Figure 4. Completion Rate by Public-Private Classification in Secondary Schools

Despite the government expenditures on education and the laws they implement, several issues
also arise and they are the following: High drop-out rates, High number of repeaters, low passing
grades, lack of responses to people with special needs, overcrowded classrooms, and poor
performances. To support the statement based on the study by UNESCO, in 2005 the ration
between the repetition rate of public-private school for elementary is 2.9% is to 0.2% while for
secondary schools it is 3.7% is to 0.8%. Other countries also show progress due to their action to
cure the lack of education and improve quality education of students. Below is the table regarding
the employment rate of recent graduates

Figure 5. Employment rate of recent graduates in EU

A POLICY BRIEF REGARDING THE LACK OF EDUCATION MIKAEL LOIS M. ALFONSO (3CE-A)
 IV. CONCLUSION
Illustrated above how there is an increase of employment to recent graduates however the data also
showed that there are still problems arising regarding the education in the world. In specific for
the Philippines the data shows that class sizes, low student to teacher ratio, availability of the
school or infrastructure, financial resources, affects the study. Concluding these statements, quality
education has been progressing however, education for all is not catching up. It also shows how
the laws are focused on being implemented in urban areas thus there are still many people from
the rural area which doesn’t have access to education or limited access. Meanwhile for the public
and private school completion ratio, it has been proven that education is still a privilege for the
people in private schools have greater statistics than the people from public and all these are due
to the abovementioned reasons.

V. POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
In order to achieve education for all, the government should prevent themselves from being
metrocentric, and they should give equal opportunities to all their constituents from urban and rural
areas. Furthermore, inclusive education should also be prioritized. The department of education
should have different approaches or alternatives to people with different circumstances to deliver
quality education for all despite their differences in resources, etc. The government should also
review the laws which they implement for if since the 1987 constitution they have been prioritizing
education, there should be a change and improvement.

Subsequently, the government should not only focus on the education in classroom but also support
the means of students in attending to prevent drop-outs due to financial constraints. Lastly, there
should be a conversation to all the people even the un-reached people or the children who engage
in labor, street children, children with special needs, children from conflict-affected areas. For they
are the major people who needs proper education and support.

Philippines did not attain the targets in almost all key outcome indicators about education but there
is still a chance when there is a reconstruction and proper implementation of the laws and programs
adhering to the education of all Filipinos.

A POLICY BRIEF REGARDING THE LACK OF EDUCATION MIKAEL LOIS M. ALFONSO (3CE-A)
REFERENCES:

Al-Shuaibi, A. (2014, January 13). (PDF) The Importance of Education. Retrieved October 13,
2020, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260075970_The_Importance_of_Education

Discussion on SDG 4- Quality Education. (2019, July 9). In Review of SDG Implementation and
Interrelations among Goals. Retrieved from
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/23669BN_SDG4.pdf

Orazem, Peter. (2006). Lack of Education. Solutions for the World's Biggest Problems: Costs
and Benefits. 10.1017/CBO9780511493560.015.

Philippine Education for all 2015: Implementation and Challenges. (2015). Retrieved from
https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/planipolis/files/ressources/philippines_efa_mda.pdf

Pogoy, A., & Montalbo, I. (2012, September 30). (PDF) An Empirical Evidence of the Impact of
Education on Poverty. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324834184_An_Empirical_Evidence_of_the_Im
pact_of_Education_on_Poverty

Rueckert, P. (2019, August 13). 10 Barriers to Education That Children Living in Poverty Face.
Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/10-barriers-to-
education-around-the-world-2/

A POLICY BRIEF REGARDING THE LACK OF EDUCATION MIKAEL LOIS M. ALFONSO (3CE-A)