Seven hopes on the first day of classes

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Philippine Education System

Introduction

Being hopeful is key to developing solutions and moving forward. Only with hope can we talk about children’s and our planet’s future. As we start a new school year and as I transition out of my role of leading the education program of Unicef Philippines, I would like to share my seven hopes for the Philippine education system to tackle the learning crisis:

Sustain the focus on learning recovery and foundational skills

The “Matatag” curriculum is a key step in that direction, as it explicitly prioritizes numeracy and literacy and reduces the excessive number of learning competencies. Unicef is proud to support the Department of Education (DepEd) in developing lesson exemplars for the new curriculum. Building capacities in teachers, schools, and school divisions for its implementation is the next challenge. The adequate use of educational technologies will also help accelerate these efforts, especially with offline solutions (e.g., Learning Passport) to reach rural, last-mile, and multigrade schools.

Reprioritize early childhood education (ECE) for children three and four years old

The global and local evidence that children who attend preschool have better learning outcomes in basic education is vast and indisputable. Making ECE for children three and four years old universal and compulsory (but not a prerequisite to access kindergarten) will increase enrollment in ECE and facilitate the smooth transition of young learners from child development centers to kindergarten.

Take care of our teachers

DepEd’s improvements to the career development and training of the most important actors in the education system are commendable. Preservice training must be aligned with Matatag agenda, with a focus on foundational skills and key methodologies to teach at the right level, with differentiated strategies, and digital skills. The most challenging geographical areas have motivated teachers. The recent update on the special hardship allowance will help them fulfill their duty and protect them from potential dangers going to school. Unicef will continue supporting the refinement of the hardship index to ensure that the most deserving teachers have the support they need to continue delivering quality education in difficult circumstances.

Support parents to engage in their children’s education

At home, the parents are a child’s guide to their early education, development, and sustained learning. We can highly benefit from developing policies, as well as implementing communication campaigns and social and behavior change strategies, to strengthen the engagement of parents, their relationship with teachers, and coordination with other parents.

Support socio-emotional learning

Foundational skills and socio-emotional learning are strongly correlated as found in the Programme for International Student Assessment (2018) and Unicef Longitudinal Study (2022). Strengthening mental health and psychosocial support policies and creating a positive school environment are essential to make schools safe and allow children to learn. Data show that levels of bullying in schools in the Philippines are significantly elevated (>60 percent) compared to other countries.

Keep equity as a top priority in education policies

Significant progress has been made to strengthen the Alternative Learning System (ALS) for out-of-school adolescents and youth. Unicef is also supporting innovations for microcertification, STEM education, and digital learning in ALS, which we hope can be continued and expanded. Specific policies and more support for children with disabilities and indigenous students remain a pending agenda. BARMM also requires more resources and specific policies to bring children back to school and improve the quality of learning.

Pay more attention to climate change

Climate change is already affecting children’s education, with more frequent strong typhoons that destroy schools and changes in temperature that disrupt in-person learning. Teachers and schools educating the next generations and empowering students to take action to save the planet shall be a top priority. Building more climate-friendly and resilient schools and classrooms is still a challenge. Nothing has ever been more urgent for our world than adapting and mitigating the effects of climate change, in which education is the main hope we can envision.

Conclusion

With hope, we imagine a better education system in the first-ever long-term education sector plan in the Philippines and work toward its implementation with the Matatag agenda. With hope, we can achieve resilience. You can trust that Unicef will continue its work with the education stakeholders and partners to uphold the right to quality education for children in the Philippines.

About the Author

Isy Faingold is the outgoing chief of education at Unicef Philippines, having spent more than four years in the country. He has over 15 years of experience in the public sector and international organizations in the design, implementation, and evaluation of education and social programs. He has a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University.

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SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 13: Climate Action

The article discusses various issues related to the Philippine education system, including learning recovery, early childhood education, teacher support, parental engagement, socio-emotional learning, equity, and climate change. These issues align with the goals of SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Additionally, the article also touches upon gender equality (SDG 5), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), and climate action (SDG 13).

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
• Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care, and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education.
• Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and children in vulnerable situations.
• Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability, and gender-sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive, and effective learning environments for all.
• Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life.
• Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status.
• Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets that can be identified include ensuring access to quality education for all children (Target 4.1), promoting early childhood development and preprimary education (Target 4.2), eliminating gender disparities in education (Target 4.5), creating safe and inclusive learning environments (Target 4.a), promoting women’s participation in decision-making (Target 5.5), reducing inequalities (Target 10.2), and enhancing education on climate change (Target 13.3).

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 4.1.1: Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex.
• Indicator 4.2.1: Proportion of children under 5 years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning, and psychosocial well-being, by sex.
• Indicator 4.5.1: Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile, and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples, and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregated.
• Indicator 4.a.1: Proportion of schools with access to (a) electricity; (b) the Internet for pedagogical purposes; (c) computers for pedagogical purposes; (d) adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities; (e) basic drinking water; (f) single-sex basic sanitation facilities; and (g) basic handwashing facilities (as per the WASH indicator definitions).
• Indicator 5.5.1: Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments.
• Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex, and persons with disabilities.
• Indicator 13.3.2: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning measures into primary, secondary, and tertiary curricula.

The article does not explicitly mention indicators, but the identified targets can be measured using the above-mentioned indicators. These indicators provide specific metrics to assess progress towards achieving the targets, such as proficiency levels in reading and mathematics, developmental tracking of children under 5 years of age, parity indices for education indicators, access to essential facilities in schools, representation of women in political positions, income inequality, and integration of climate change measures into education curricula.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators