MANY children drop out of school due to poverty and hunger, and also boredom because of inadequate teaching.
Across the Philippines, poverty causes hundreds of thousands of children to go hungry. Many drop out of school and live on the streets with severe literacy problems. It is estimated that 13.1 percent — 2.9 million — of Filipino children are estimated to be hungry every day, and 18 percent — 2 million — are considered severely “food poor”, said Albert Muyot, chief executive officer of Save the Children Philippines.
The Food and Agriculture Organization reported in 2023 that almost 45 percent of the Philippine population faced moderate or severe food insecurity. It also said 29 percent of children suffered from stunted growth. Being deprived of nutritious food caused this, affecting their brain development and learning abilities.
Besides hunger keeping Filipino children out of school, a very low standard of education among them is seen in government-mandated day care centers for children five years old and younger. From there, they move up to elementary. Republic Act 8980, or the Early Childhood Care and Development Act, says local governments are responsible for operating these day care centers.
There are approximately 30 day care centers in each large municipality, and research shows that moving-up ceremonies for toddlers are the source of moneymaking events. In one example in Zambales, the parents of about 60 children five years old and younger have a “moving up” day, a kind of graduation or recognition ceremony. Each child’s family, poor or not, has to pay P580 for the child’s participation.
Instead of them each getting a certificate, the children are made to wear a special rented “toga”, and have a photo package worth P230 and a moving-up fee of P350. Parents have to pay or be shamed when their child is excluded from the event.
If there are 60 children, more or less, in a day care center holding two sessions, the teacher, and presumably the village, will collect approximately P34,800 from one day care center alone. If there are 31 day care centers, as in one municipality in Zambales, the authorities will collect from the parents a whopping P1,078,800, more or less, for an event lasting only a few hours.
Where that money goes is anyone’s guess. These moneymaking ceremonies are similar in elementary and high schools. Besides, teachers ask parents for contributions to buy items like electric fans, flower pots, curtains, chalk and others. Some parents go into debt or reduce the family’s food intake. All these in the empty hope that their child will get a good education.
Sadly, too many can’t afford it, and the child drops out of school to wander in the streets and join gangs and likely become a child in conflict with the law. Are we surprised that the Philippines ranks among the lowest in educational standards in Asia?/PN
