Progress with Regard to EFA Goals

“By 2015, the Philippine government hopes to attain an 84.6% functional literacy level by eradicating
the remaining 13.6% functionally illiterate 10+-year-olds.”

This monograph was written as a progress report on the Philippine Education For All Plan of Action 2015, and
was guided by the National Action Plan to Achieve Education for All by the Year 2015 Implementation
Strategies composed of the six production tasks and three enabling tasks.

Objectives The purpose of this monograph is to assess the progress made in achieving the objectives of the
Education For All: Assessment 2012 process related to the four objectives of EFA and its nine urgent and
critical tasks:
Universal Goals and Objectives of Philippine EFA 2015

Goal 1 . Universal Coverage of Out-of-School Youths and Adults with Regard to Providing Basic Learning
Needs
 Based on the Philippine EFA 2015 Plan, 23 percent of the 9 million (FLEMMS, 2008)
functionally illiterate Filipinos who are out-of-school youths (OSYs) and adults should be
taught basic learning needs through the programs of the DepEd. Although DepEd has made
immense efforts to achieve this target, data show that on the average, DepEd was able to
reach only 3.6 percent of this number every year between 2005 and 2012. This brings the
total number of ALS enrollees over the aforementioned seven-year span to 2.3 million or 26
percent of the 9 million Filipinos who are functionally illiterate.
 ALS Programs and Projects The BALS was created primarily to develop exemplary programs
and open creative learning opportunities to achieve multiple literacies for all. Thus,
programs on both non-formal and informal education as components of ALS have been
continuously promoted and implemented by the BALS.
 Non-Formal Education- allows learning to take place anytime and anywhere, depending on
the learners’ availability through a modular and flexible program.
 The success of the program can mainly be attributed to the persistence and hard work of
BALS ALS mobile teachers. Aiming to help deliver basic literacy programs that will eventually
lead completers to take and pass A&E(Accreditation and Equivalency Program) tests, BALS
ALS mobile teachers go from one community to another to reach underserved youths and
adults.
 Informal Education Informal education has become widely accepted as a means to provide
education to those who have been hindered access to formal or traditional education.
 DepEd informal education has been progressively developing through its Informal Education
(INFED) Program. INFED specifically aims to provide education to marginalized and special-
interest groups using life skills or personal development approach.

Other programs developed by the DepEd along the same line include:
 The Indigenous People Education Program which addresses indigenous people’s specific
needs, interests, and aspirations at the community level.
 The Informal Education for Various Interest Groups Program which advocates social, civic,
spiritual, cultural, recreational, health, economic, and other lifelong learning activities for
personal and community development.

Goal 2: Universal School Participation and Elimination of School Leavers and Repeaters in the First Three
Grades
 Studies have supported how early childhood education (ECE) greatly contributes to universal
school participation and cures the problem of children not being able to attend preschool or
repeat a grade level in the first three years.
 DepEd has implemented various preschool programs that helped to address constraints on
access of pre-schoolers to early childhood care and development (ECCD) services such as the
Summer Preschool Program and EightWeek Preschool. Other government agencies such as
the DSWD and ECCD Council, LGUs and NGOs offer alternative ECCD programs such as the
home-based ECCD which trains parents to become better caregivers and educators of their
children. Another program that has expanded the delivery of education is the Kindergarten
on Wheels program wherein makeshift kindergarten classrooms made from vans or trucks
are used in urban schools to help decongest kindergarten classes.

 In coming up with viable solutions to expand ECCD in the country given the wide disparity in
the number of enrollees, DepEd has initiated numerous practices worthy of emulation to
ensure children are enrolled on time. Efforts toward this require the cooperation of the local
government units, barangay officials, parents-teachers associations, civil society and the
business sector. Among these include the DepEd’s annual conduct of an early registration
day to mark a massive education campaign and collaboration to address resource gaps.
While the activity ensures that all five-year-old children enrol in Kindergarten and all six-
year-old children enrol in Grade 1, it likewise helps all disadvantaged groups by promoting
their school participation.

 The DepEd has sought to guarantee the provision of free basic education, enabling parents
who are financially constrained to send their children to school through its “zero collection
policy.” This policy further prohibits schools from collecting certain fees and prescribes a
schedule for the collection of necessary fees.

 the EFA 2015 target on universal school participation may be achieved, albeit further work is
needed to sustain and enlarge the number of its beneficiaries. The net enrolment rate (NER)
for elementary and secondary .

 Good practices to ensure the participation of school-age Filipino children in basic education
in the county include those of alternative delivery modes (ADMs) or flexible learning options
(FLO) which have been institutionalized as a proven tool in addressing the low participation,
retention and completion rates among learners. ADMs likewise serve as a dropout reduction
strategy for those students at risk of dropping out due to irregular school attendance.

UNICEF’s unpublished study cited some factors that may have contributed to the delay in
enrolment of children. These include:

 Number of repeaters and returning dropouts;

 Low educational attainment level of mothers;
 Low financial resources available to the family; and
 Residence in areas afflicted by armed conflict and terrorism that make parents fear for the
safety of their very young children.

 Various effective programs have been implemented to eliminate or lessen the number of
school leavers and repeaters. Among these include the Health and School Nutrition Program
spearheaded by the Department of Education (DepEd) together with LGUs, parents and
other stakeholders. This program has effectively held students in schools as it has become an
incentive for them to stay in school and at the same time has served as an appropriate
intervention for children to cope with school work on a full stomach.

 Another tool that has kept children in school, particularly those in rural areas, is the use of
mother tongue in instruction. Using the native language or dialect in instructing children in
 early grades has been proven to be an effective educational strategy that helps sustain the
interest of children to be in school. Through the institutionalization of Mother Tongue-Based
Multilingual Education, the schools’ internal efficiency is expected to improve.

 Last, but not the least, is through the Every Child a Reader Program (ECARP) which
determines the reading ability of pupils and offers a reading intervention program to ensure
that children gain the necessary tool to succeed academically. Student’s learning and
interest to stay in school has been further bolstered by such programs which give learners
an edge in attaining basic learning skills that serve as a foundation for lifelong learning.

Goal 3: Universal Completion of the Full Basic Education Cycle with Satisfactory Annual Achievement
Levels
 The third goal under EFA 2015 is the universal completion of the full basic education cycle
with satisfactory annual achievement levels. The EFA 2015 target completion rate of
elementary education is 81 percent while that of secondary education is 75.3 percent.
 The minimal gap between the targets and what were accomplished was resultant from
various practices or programs aimed at helping disadvantaged learners overcome hurdles in
completing their basic education. Some of the most effective programs that have been
implemented involve close collaboration with private groups to ensure the provision of
education.
 There are also NGOs, LGUs, and private groups or individuals who offer assistance to
students to finish basic education through scholarships or education support programs.
 To achieve quality education, DepEd, with the help of other concerned agencies, has come
up with the National Competency-Based Teaching Standards (NCBTS) towards quality
teaching.
 Moreover, DepEd has also introduced changes in the curriculum through the K to 12
Education Program that aims to align the curriculum with international standards and
upgrade the competency standards of Filipinos towards having the 21st century skills.
 There are also various education programs that seek to improve specific courses in basic
education such as technical-vocational education, science and mathematics. While the EFA
quality targets for elementary level seem likely to be attained, a major effort will be needed
to tackle the significant quality gap in secondary education.
Goal 4: Total Community Commitment to Attaining Basic Educational Competence for All
 In attaining the goal of achieving basic education competence for all, the commitment of
each stakeholder is needed. In realizing all the goals under the EFA 2015, several
government and non-government entities have forged an alliance to perform shared
responsibilities of supporting the EFA 2015
 the National Education for All Committee (NEC) was established based on the commitment
of 23 agencies to support the Philippine EFA 2015 through a memorandum of agreement
(MOA). To strengthen the commitment, DepEd Order 94, s. 2009, was issued mandating the
creation of regional and division EFA committees. Note, however, that only 36 percent of the
country’s regions have established regional EFA committees
 Aside from government budget for education, there are other sources of funds and
resources allocated for education. There are the private sector contributions to education
which have been increasing due to the government’s effort to strengthen public-private
partnerships through its Adopt-A-School program. At the municipal/city level, the Special
Education Funds generated by the local school board (LSB) augments the education budget.
Overseas Development Assistance has also strategically put in resources to address various
education issues.
Nine Urgent and Critical Tasks
Production tasks

1. Better schools: Make every school continuously perform better.

2. ECCD(Early child care development ): Expand the coverage to yield more EFA benefits.

3. ALS: Transform non-formal and informal interventions into ALSs to yield more EFA benefits.

4. Teachers: Promote high-quality teaching.

5. Longer educational cycle: Adopt a 12-year formal basic education cycle by adding two years to the current
10-year scheme — one year in the elementary and another in the secondary level. It should, however, be
noted that a law enacted as early as 1953 already proposed the addition of a seventh grade to the elementary
level although this was not implemented.

6. Curriculum: Accelerate the articulation, enrichment, and development of the BEC in the context of
functional literacy.

Enabling tasks

7. Funding: Provide adequate and stable public funding for the countrywide attainment of EFA goals. Adopting
a basic education funding framework that combines national and local government funding to support the
most cost-effective local efforts to attain quality outcomes in every locality should be done throughout the
country.

8. Governance: Create a network of community-based groups to locally attain EFA goals. This requires a
knowledge-based movement that reaches, engages, and organizes the people in each locality to form a
nationwide network of multi-sectoral groups that advocate and support the EFA goals in their respective
localities.

9. Progress monitoring: Develop and implement educational quality indicators.

Conceptual Framework Education

is regarded as a major contributor to improving the living standards of disadvantaged groups. For many poor
Filipinos, obtaining education is a means toward achieving a better life. The Philippine EFA 2015 National Plan
of Action, in fact, asserts that basic education is an anti-poverty instrument that can provide people skills,
attitudes, knowledge, and values that they can use to obtain access to useful information, as well as a united
approach to attain greater productivity. It can also empower the marginalized and prevent them from being
exploited and alienated from the development process.

The Philippine EFA 2015 National Plan of Action

It emphasizes the need to provide basic EFA and add a dimension to what has been almost exclusively
schoolbased education. It points to an “urgent need to respond to the learning needs of youth and adults who
have either never been to school, dropped out, reverted to illiteracy, or need basic or advanced skills to find
jobs.”

It suggests a viable alternative to formal schooling that can ensure basic learning achievement for all Filipinos.
It stresses that educational opportunities are channels of learning that can become effective conduits of
values orientation, consciousness, and information that is useful and relevant to a wide range of social goals.
The BESRA

To help the Philippines attain its EFA goals and targets, the DepEd formulated the Basic Education Sector
Reform Agenda (BESRA) in 2005. The BESRA is a policy reform package that seeks to improve the regulatory,
institutional, structural, financial, informational, cultural, and physical conditions that affect the provision of,
access to, and delivery of basic education particularly in the field. The BESRA policy actions are grouped into
the following Key Reform Thrusts (KRTs):

KRT 1: School-Based Management (SBM) Schools, communities, and stakeholders are made responsible for all
students’ continuous learning improvement.

KRT 2: Teacher Education Development (TED) Teacher Education Development pushes for a competency-
based system for hiring, deploying, evaluating, promoting, and continuously developing teachers.

KRT 3: National Learning Strategies (NLS) Multi-sectoral national strategies to improve enrolment,
participation, and completion rates as well as reduce the dropout rate. This involves operationalization of the
K to 12 Education Program, use of alternative delivery modes in formal education, and institutionalization of
the ALS.

KRT 4: Quality Assurance and Accountability (QAA) and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Covers quality
planning, QAA, and quality M&E.

KRT 5: Organizational Development with Resource Mobilization and Management (RMM) and Information
Communication Technology (ICT)

Refers to a culture change strategy that should be adopted to improve the DepEd’s operational capacity
through staff and facility development as well as increased unit transparency, accountability, and integrity
under a rationalized structure.

RMM particularly refers to introducing reforms to obtain adequate basic educational resources as well as
optimally allocate and mobilize resources across all levels while formulating rational policies to efficiently and
effectively manage and mobilize basic educational resources. System-wide and outcome-focused RMM
initiatives should subsequently be realized.

This also involves the current and future use of ICT that involves evaluating and directing plans to support the
organization and monitoring of goal achievement. Through the BESRA Program Implementation Plan (BPIP),
the government will adopt a sector-wide approach to fully articulate reform strategies into specific policy
instruments that will create a supportive environment for all developmental programs and projects.

A Ten-Point Education Agenda

 12-year basic education cycle: Expansion of basic education in the country from a short 10-year cycle
to a globally comparable 12 years.
 Preschool for all: Introduction to formal schooling through a full year of preschool shall be offered to
all public school children by all public schools.
 Madaris education: Make the full basic EFA available to all Muslim Filipino children anywhere in the
country.
 Technical-Vocational Education (TVE): Reintroduction of TVE in public high schools to better link
schooling to local industry needs and employment.
 A reader by grade 1: Make each child able readers by end of grade 1.
 Science and Math proficiency: Rebuild the science and math infrastructure in schools and universities
to encourage more students to become scientists, engineers, technicians, technologists, and teachers,
making the country globally competitive in industry and manufacturing.
 Private schools as partners: Expansion of the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in
Private Education (GASTPE) Program by targeting 1 million private high school students every year
 through the Education Service Contracting (ESC) Scheme while scrapping the inefficient Education
Voucher System (EVS).
 Medium of Instruction (MOI): MOI should be larger than just the classroom. The country should
become trilingual — learn English well and connect with the world; learn Filipino well and connect
with our country; and retain your dialect and connect with your heritage.
 Quality textbooks: Poor textbook quality in schools should not be tolerated, hence textbooks should
be chosen based on three criteria— quality, better quality, and more quality.
 Build more schools with local government units (LGUs): Build more schools in areas where there are
no public or private schools through a covenant with LGUs in order to realize genuine EFA.

The Philippine EFA 2015 National Plan of Action production and enabling tasks correspond with the
BESRA and the current administration’s educational agenda, ensuring that actions are being taken to
fulfill the Philippine’s commitment to EFA.

What is the purpose of education for all?

The main purpose of education is to provide the opportunity for acquiring knowledge and
skills that will enable people to develop their full potential, and become successful
members of society.

The Philippine EFA 2015 Plan is a vision and a holistic program of reforms of the country to achieve
an improved quality of basic education for every Filipino by 2015.
The central goal of the Philippine EFA 2015 Plan is basic competencies for all that will bring about
functional literacy for all. Based on “World Education Forum” in Dakar, Senegal in 2000