FLICKERING rays of hope glimmer in the silver lining amid the current state of Philippine education. The education crisis is here and real, but such alarm incited engagement, decisions and actions. And there is hope.
Common sense tells us that we cannot teach a hungry child. Worse, we can hardly teach a malnourished child whose poor health status traces back to the intrauterine deprivation of a malnourished mother.
This article focuses on some developments in the early childhood care and development (ECCD) of Filipinos.
Why current solutions hold the promise of hope
Inspired by the gains and lessons of Education Commission 1 (EdCom 1) in 1991, there was a legislative move through the EdCom 2 via Republic Act (RA) 11899 of 2022. It is a milestone in our educational history.
Hope comes from what the education sector is doing right. First, EdCom 2 orchestrated the entire “village” to turn every stone that may surround and affect the raising of a child. The brilliant education leaders and experts from diverse sectors of education are forced to come together to “sing in harmony” under one conductor — the Filipino learner.
Second, there is data that serve as a basis for evidence-based comprehensive solutions for the problems and issues that documented and slapped our faces with what is obvious and what we may already know. This confirms the beauty of policies that are guided by empirical data, not by opinions.
Third, there are legislative reforms, and policy and structural changes for more sustainable implementations and the creation of enabling environments and resources to make it happen. The oversight function of the legislature may check to balance these policy implementations.
Fourth, the trifocalized system of education is awakened that each — the Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) — need to revisit its scorecards through the common lens of interdependence, not independence.
Fifth, the educational advocates, even in personal and organizational levels, have become triggered to engage with the Filipino learners in mind. The call to and for actions, based on legitimate information, are coming from various sectors, including private sectors, business groups, churches and international agencies.
Lastly, the availability of international benchmarks is proven useful in learning and adopting the models and practices that may benefit local reforms and application. The village that is raising the child is now a small global village.
EdCom reports
A problem well-stated is half-solved, says Charles Kettering.
After one year, EdCom 2 published its report entitled: “Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education.” It highlighted the underinvestment, disjointed governance and inequitable access that have persisted for decades. In its second year, the EdCom 2 report is entitled: “Fixing the Foundations: A Matter of National Survival.” “Fixing the foundations” is a call to action, not a tagline. First, to realign priorities toward the foundational stages of learning: on early childhood education and nutrition, and on primary education during which critical competencies are built. Second, to strengthen the foundations of our education system.
Educating the malnourished
There is no doubt that ECCD is recognized to have a critical role in student achievement, but EdCom 2 findings state that it remains unattended with the lowest attention and support. Only 50 percent of children ages 3 to 4 are engaged in reading activities at home. The government’s allocation of P3,870 per child for ECCD services is inadequate (average P8,700 in low- and middle-income countries).
Many Filipino children continue to suffer from severe malnutrition, high stunting and low early childhood education participation. Seventy-five percent of Filipino children do not meet the recommended energy intake.
Good news
There are many joint circulars and department orders that effect change with impact on education; there are also laws to celebrate.
RA 12199, or the Early Childhood Care and Development System Act, was signed into law in July 2024. The law is anchored on the state policy to safeguard and promote the right of every child as it commits to creating nurturing environments with systems-thinking focus on nutrition, age-appropriate development and special protection for children younger than age 5. The state shall support parent and parent substitutes in the role as primary caregivers and as first teachers.
The law is anchored on the empirical data that ages 0 to 8 is the first crucial stage of educational development. The ECCD Council shall be responsible for children ages 0 to 5, while the formative years between 5 and 8 shall be under the DepEd.
The ECCD Council is an attached agency of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The DILG chief is now co-chairman of the council along with the DepEd chief. There shall be an executive director with secretaries of the departments of agriculture, health and social welfare and development; CHED chairman; Tesda director general; executive director of the National Nutrition Council; expert of ECCD; and representative from the academe specializing in ECCD.
Localizing ECCD
There shall be ECCD offices in local government units (LGU) — provinces, cities and municipalities, and that the ECCD indicators shall be included in the Seal of Good Local Governance of LGUs.
Human resources are provided for by the law like the creation of plantilla positions for child development teachers and child development workers (CDWs) for every child development center (CDC) in barangay. Standardized salary grades are set for child development teachers (not lower than SG 11) and child development workers (not lower than SG 😎. There is provision of certification, reskilling and upskilling of incumbent CDWs and scholarships for continuing education.
Private-sector participation is enjoined by the law as it mandates the 50-percent tax incentives for donations toward public CDCs.
The Department of Budget and Management approved the release of P1 billion to fund the establishment of CDCs in low-income LGUs nationwide. Ceremonial signing of a joint circular on the establishment of CDCs was held last April 3, 2025.
In a related development, a separate specialized exam for early childhood education was created for the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers, among others.
ECCD data published
EdCom 2 partnered with IDinsight to publish a policy brief on undernutrition in early childhood. The brief was shared with national government agencies and relevant stakeholders, leading to the commission’s coordination efforts with the National Nutrition Council and the Department of Health (DOH).
The ECCD Council secured a bigger budget in the General Appropriations Act, enabling the establishment of more CDCs.
The DOH received a P300-million allocation in 2024 for a comprehensive nutrition intervention program targeting nutritionally-at-risk pregnant mothers and children below 5 years old in fifth- and sixth-class municipalities with stunting rates ≥15 percent in nonfood stamp sites to complement the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project.
There are other laws, which the ECCD Law will harmonize to ensure that the formative years of Filipino children are nurtured for education and development. Brilliant laws anchored on data and evidence that matter. But in the end, only its effective implementation will spell the solution it envisions.
-END-
SOURCE: The Manila Times
Common sense tells us that we cannot teach a hungry child. Worse, we can hardly teach a malnourished child whose poor health status traces back to the intrauterine deprivation of a malnourished mother.
This article focuses on some developments in the early childhood care and development (ECCD) of Filipinos.
Why current solutions hold the promise of hope
Inspired by the gains and lessons of Education Commission 1 (EdCom 1) in 1991, there was a legislative move through the EdCom 2 via Republic Act (RA) 11899 of 2022. It is a milestone in our educational history.
Hope comes from what the education sector is doing right. First, EdCom 2 orchestrated the entire “village” to turn every stone that may surround and affect the raising of a child. The brilliant education leaders and experts from diverse sectors of education are forced to come together to “sing in harmony” under one conductor — the Filipino learner.
Second, there is data that serve as a basis for evidence-based comprehensive solutions for the problems and issues that documented and slapped our faces with what is obvious and what we may already know. This confirms the beauty of policies that are guided by empirical data, not by opinions.
Third, there are legislative reforms, and policy and structural changes for more sustainable implementations and the creation of enabling environments and resources to make it happen. The oversight function of the legislature may check to balance these policy implementations.
Fourth, the trifocalized system of education is awakened that each — the Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) — need to revisit its scorecards through the common lens of interdependence, not independence.
Fifth, the educational advocates, even in personal and organizational levels, have become triggered to engage with the Filipino learners in mind. The call to and for actions, based on legitimate information, are coming from various sectors, including private sectors, business groups, churches and international agencies.
Lastly, the availability of international benchmarks is proven useful in learning and adopting the models and practices that may benefit local reforms and application. The village that is raising the child is now a small global village.
EdCom reports
A problem well-stated is half-solved, says Charles Kettering.
After one year, EdCom 2 published its report entitled: “Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education.” It highlighted the underinvestment, disjointed governance and inequitable access that have persisted for decades. In its second year, the EdCom 2 report is entitled: “Fixing the Foundations: A Matter of National Survival.” “Fixing the foundations” is a call to action, not a tagline. First, to realign priorities toward the foundational stages of learning: on early childhood education and nutrition, and on primary education during which critical competencies are built. Second, to strengthen the foundations of our education system.
Educating the malnourished
There is no doubt that ECCD is recognized to have a critical role in student achievement, but EdCom 2 findings state that it remains unattended with the lowest attention and support. Only 50 percent of children ages 3 to 4 are engaged in reading activities at home. The government’s allocation of P3,870 per child for ECCD services is inadequate (average P8,700 in low- and middle-income countries).
Many Filipino children continue to suffer from severe malnutrition, high stunting and low early childhood education participation. Seventy-five percent of Filipino children do not meet the recommended energy intake.
Good news
There are many joint circulars and department orders that effect change with impact on education; there are also laws to celebrate.
RA 12199, or the Early Childhood Care and Development System Act, was signed into law in July 2024. The law is anchored on the state policy to safeguard and promote the right of every child as it commits to creating nurturing environments with systems-thinking focus on nutrition, age-appropriate development and special protection for children younger than age 5. The state shall support parent and parent substitutes in the role as primary caregivers and as first teachers.
The law is anchored on the empirical data that ages 0 to 8 is the first crucial stage of educational development. The ECCD Council shall be responsible for children ages 0 to 5, while the formative years between 5 and 8 shall be under the DepEd.
The ECCD Council is an attached agency of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The DILG chief is now co-chairman of the council along with the DepEd chief. There shall be an executive director with secretaries of the departments of agriculture, health and social welfare and development; CHED chairman; Tesda director general; executive director of the National Nutrition Council; expert of ECCD; and representative from the academe specializing in ECCD.
Localizing ECCD
There shall be ECCD offices in local government units (LGU) — provinces, cities and municipalities, and that the ECCD indicators shall be included in the Seal of Good Local Governance of LGUs.
Human resources are provided for by the law like the creation of plantilla positions for child development teachers and child development workers (CDWs) for every child development center (CDC) in barangay. Standardized salary grades are set for child development teachers (not lower than SG 11) and child development workers (not lower than SG 😎. There is provision of certification, reskilling and upskilling of incumbent CDWs and scholarships for continuing education.
Private-sector participation is enjoined by the law as it mandates the 50-percent tax incentives for donations toward public CDCs.
The Department of Budget and Management approved the release of P1 billion to fund the establishment of CDCs in low-income LGUs nationwide. Ceremonial signing of a joint circular on the establishment of CDCs was held last April 3, 2025.
In a related development, a separate specialized exam for early childhood education was created for the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers, among others.
ECCD data published
EdCom 2 partnered with IDinsight to publish a policy brief on undernutrition in early childhood. The brief was shared with national government agencies and relevant stakeholders, leading to the commission’s coordination efforts with the National Nutrition Council and the Department of Health (DOH).
The ECCD Council secured a bigger budget in the General Appropriations Act, enabling the establishment of more CDCs.
The DOH received a P300-million allocation in 2024 for a comprehensive nutrition intervention program targeting nutritionally-at-risk pregnant mothers and children below 5 years old in fifth- and sixth-class municipalities with stunting rates ≥15 percent in nonfood stamp sites to complement the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project.
There are other laws, which the ECCD Law will harmonize to ensure that the formative years of Filipino children are nurtured for education and development. Brilliant laws anchored on data and evidence that matter. But in the end, only its effective implementation will spell the solution it envisions.
-END-
SOURCE: The Manila Times