BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—The projected recession has not only reduced the Philippines’ chances of fulfilling its millennium development goals (MDG), it may have also hurt its target of accomplishing its education for all (EFA) program by 2015, according to a group of educators.

Education advocates discussed the government’s anticipated failure to provide widespread access to education in the country during the second triennial conference of the Action and Solidarity for the Empowerment of Teachers (Assert).

Ramon Mapa, of the People’s Initiative for Learning and Community Development (PILCD), cited a government report suggesting that the EFA commitment may have to take a back seat to concerns over food and health.

The Philippines is a signatory to the MDG, which is represented by eight targets outlined by the United Nations to reduce world poverty in 2015.

Another target

The country, however, was also a signatory to the EFA target, another UN-led agenda. This aims to expand early child care and education, provide free and compulsory primary education, promote learning and life skills to young adults, cut adult illiteracy by 50 percent, achieve school gender parity and equality, and improve quality education.

He said the MDG incorporates two of the EFA’s targets.

But in the midterm MDG goal assessment conducted by the National Economic and Development Authority, Mapa said the government predicted that the participation and survival rate of Filipinos would still be low in 2015.

The second MDG goal is to achieve universal primary education.

The country is doing better with gender parity in education, which NEDA reported to be on track, Mapa said.

He said the trend enables the government to review its commitments.

Mapa also said the government should consider including adult education among its primary targets.

Productivity

The PILCD believes that increasing resources for adult literacy improves the advantages of the most productive Filipinos in the work force, he said.

Mapa said adults who are educated are almost always likely to keep their children in school.

He cited a 2006 PILCD study conducted in La Trinidad, Benguet, where the number of children in public day care centers reflected the educational background of their parents.

“Children with educated [parents] are twice as likely to be in school, than those with mothers without formal education,” Mapa said.

Mapa said resources for education in most parts of the world are never enough.

Citing the latest ranking of world consumption expenditures, he said the United States and Europe spent $12 billion on perfume and $17 billion on pet food, but allocated only $7 billion on education.

“[As a consequence,] almost one in five adults, a total of 774 million people, cannot read or write; and 75 million children of school age are out of school,” he said.

Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon