The Limitations on the Right to Education in the Philippines

Deprivation of Attainable Education The Philippines faces several major issues and problems in the education of S.T.E.M. Firstly, the quality of education in the Philippines is deteriorating due to the low government budget funding for education, the content of curriculum, inadequate equipment and multifarious other shortages and poor qualities of—Quality education in the Philippines seems to be financially-capacity based making this education more of a privilege than a right. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the recommended ratio of researchers and scientists within a given country to its population (called research/scientist per million) is 380/million. As of the moment, the Philippines falls short, with a meager 189 researchers/million as of 2013. (Flip Science) CNN Philippines writes, “Among the 13 indicators, educational attainment had the highest incidence of deprivation among families in 2016 and 2017 at 59.3 percent and 49.4 percent. These mean that six in ten families in 2016 and five in ten families in 2017 lacked access to basic education.” The statistics regarding this deprivation to an attainable education are appalling and advocacy for a more accessible way to education is necessary. An apparent matter seems to be globalization issues in education in the Philippines. Technologies bringing this hopeful triumph into areas of education in the Philippines are lacking preventing a sort of global competitiveness and strong education system out of the Philippines. Covid-19 and it’s Effects on Education Covid-19 as we know it, has greatly affected students of all ages globally. UNICEF writes, ““In 2020, schools globally were fully closed for an average of 79 teaching days, while the Philippines has been closed for more than a year, forcing students to enroll in distance learning modalities. The associated consequences of school closures – learning loss, mental distress, missed vaccinations, and heightened risk of drop out, child labour, and child marriage – will be felt by many children, especially the youngest learners in critical development stages,” UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov says.” The transition to distance learning, especially for children in the Philippines has been extremely challenging, especially to children who do not have access or have limited access to technology preventing the distance learning entirely. Creating an interactive space for learning over the computer is difficult and attention-spans of students are usually minimal for the several distractions of day-to-day life are just in their back corner. Now that a vaccine has been created and FDA approved, trips to the Philippines, along with a quarantine upon arrival are feasible enabling our chance to teach our curriculum IN-PERSON. This assures collaboration, flexibility, and the chance to truly create these personal connections with students. Our Goal Stem in the Philippines (S.I.P) is not limited to just galvanizing young minds in their futures in Science, Technology, Math and Engineering. S.I.P works to also provide more education infrastructure, awareness on the importance of education, and creating feasible opportunities for all future S.T.E.M minds. We aim to advocate for attainable education and empower education in the STEM world due to the lack of pursued careers of STEM in the Philippines. Our advocacy is not limited to just the STEM curriculum also, we advocate for the advancement of education as a whole for we believe it is a right, not a privilege. We stress that education builds character, helps one understand the abundant cultures and languages of the world and how to fulfill in the fulness of life through ones learning. We do this all through hope, faith and love of one-another. Despite language barriers, whether we speak Tagalog or not, and they English or not, what we both can understand is the language of love. With our collaboration, no one and nothing can stop us. Your support is valued and appreciated on our journey. Author: Karjala Natasha, The Limitations on the Right to Education in the Philippines, Stem in the PHL., 2021 December 17, Citations “7 Key Issues and Problems of Philippine Education.” ImbaLife, https://www.imbalife.com/7-key-issues-and-problems-of-philippine-education.

“Filipino Children Continue Missing Education Opportunities in Another Year of School Closure.” UNICEF, 15 Nov. 2021, https://www.unicef.org/philippines/press-releases/filipino-children-continue-missing-education-opportunities-another-year-school. Vergara, Robert. “5 In 10 Filipino Families Deprived of Basic Education -Statistics Body.” Cnn, https://cnnphilippines.com/business/2018/11/15/multidimensional-poverty-index-mpi-education-psa.html.