Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has urged a collective effort towards education reforms that transcend political terms, as he received the Second Congressional Commission on Education's (EDCOM 2) final report on the country's learning crisis. In an event held at Malaca±an Palace, the president was presented with a report titled 'Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reform,' which details EDCOM 2's three-year findings on the systemic weaknesses affecting the Philippine education system.
According to Philippines News Agency, Marcos also received the National Education and Workforce Development Plan (NatPlan) 2026-2035, a strategic roadmap designed to reverse the education crisis and align workforce development with national objectives. He emphasized the importance of unity and consistency in implementing reforms outlined in the report and NatPlan to address the proficiency collapse in the education sector.
Marcos highlighted that his administration has collaborated with EDCOM 2 over the past three years, focusing on aligning ongoing education reforms with the commission's recommendations. Efforts are concentrated on addressing learning gaps exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges like climate change. The administration has revised the basic educational curriculum to be learner-centered and skill-focused, while also filling teaching and non-teaching positions to support these changes.
The president stressed the urgency of reforms and called for a long-term commitment to strengthen the education sector. He cited a PHP1.3 trillion allocation for education in the 2026 national budget, the largest in Philippine history, which aims to hire more teachers, implement learning recovery programs, expand school-based feeding, and construct more classrooms.
Marcos also noted initiatives to strengthen health and scholarship support, including the Department of Education and PhilHealth's YAKAP Caravans, and expanded scholarships for master's degrees and technical-vocational education.
The NatPlan identifies a systemic 'proficiency collapse' in Philippine education, attributing it to stunting, learning gaps, and insufficient skills development. It reports that 23.6 percent of children under five are stunted, and 91 percent of 10-year-olds cannot read and understand a simple text. To counter these issues, EDCOM 2 proposes a foundational-skills approach, with targets to increase proficiency levels and reduce stunting by 2035.
