Article 13 (2): The right to receive an education - some general remarks

6. While the precise and appropriate application of the terms will depend upon the conditions prevailing in a particular State party, education in all its forms and at all levels shall exhibit the following interrelated and essential features:i

(a) Availability. for example, all institutions and programmes are likely to require buildings or other protection from the elements, sanitation facilities for both sexes, safe drinking water, trained teachers receiving domestically competitive salaries, teaching materials, and so on; while some will also require facilities such as a library, computer facilities and information technology;

(b) Accessibility. Educational institutions and programmes have to be accessible to everyone, without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the State party

(c) Acceptability - the form and substance of education, including curricula and teaching methods, have to be acceptable (e.g. relevant, culturally appropriate and of good quality) to students and, in appropriate cases, parents

(d) Adaptability - education has to be flexible so it can adapt to the needs of changing societies and communities and respond to the needs of students within their diverse social and cultural settings.

WHY IS IT A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE?

Issues concerning Article 13 (2) should be given adequate attention by our government leaders because of the following points.

First, it is believed that “Education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities.” (General Comments Adopted by The Human Rights Committee on the Right to Education)

Secondly, according to Schultz’s theory, education plays a large and critical role in the economic development process of a country.

And lastly, Philippines, as United Nation’s member state, have pledged to adopt the Education For All (EFA) 2015 which is a vision and a holistic program of reforms that aims at improving the quality of basic education for every Filipino by 2015.

So far, the Philippine government has made efforts to address the right of every Filipino child to education which exhibits the essential features of availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability.

ON AVAILABILITY

Education, being the priority of the government, has produced active public-private partnerships over the years. For instance the provision of grants in private schools through the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) has also improved throughout the years from 8.1% decline in 2010 to 10.9% increase in 2013.

Moreover, the allocation for the creation of teaching position has exhibited a remarkable improvement from a 25.5% decline in 2010 to 342.7% increase in 2013

On PNoys State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2015, he pointed out that through the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative, ninety two (92) new schools have been completed to date and 108 are under construction. About three hundred and forty two (342) schools have received water for the first time. Three hundred and fifty one (351) schools have received decent sanitation while two hundred and eighty eight (288) have been connected to electricity. Government has identified 16 sites for the construction of 12 new Technical and Vocational Education and Training College campuses and the refurbishment of two existing campuses.

ON ACCESSIBILITY

Republic Act 9155 stipulates the establishment of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) to provide out-of-school children, youth and adults population with basic education.

ALS is a community-based lifelong learning for out-of school children (OSC), out-of-school youth (OSY) and adults. Without undermining the traditional school system, the DepEd’s ALS has been proven effective in delivering basic literacy for illiterates; functional literacy non-formal education for elementary and secondary out-of-school learners; and functional literacy informal education for all. ALS is considered as the “other leg” of the Philippine educational system (Philippine Education System: Non Formal and Informal Education, UNESCO).

Through the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, the government provides free schooling from kindergarten to secondary education. The operation of 38,659 public elementary and 7,748 public secondary schools (DepEd Fact Sheet, 2013) that offer free education to all Filipino learners is a visible manifestation of the government’s adherence to this mandate.

ON ACCEPTABILITY and ADAPTABILITY

The enactment into law of Republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 ensures the continuity of the government policy to establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people, and society-at-large.

The establishment of Madaris education makes the full basic EFA available to all Muslim Filipino children anywhere in the country.

With the end goal of making Filipino children lifelong learners in their Li (MT), L2 (Filipino, the national language), and L3 (English, the global language) the learners are more than prepared to develop the competencies in the different learning areas through the Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTBLE) Program in which the learner’s mother tongue and additional languages are used in the classroom

***With these essential features of the right to education met, the country would be able to produce educated workers who will become the lifeline of the Philippine economy in the future.

RECOMMENDATION

The Philippine government has already laid down numerous education programs and plans to ensure that the citizens have achieved and enjoyed their basic right to education.

However, a UNESCO representative said in an e-mail exchange with Philstar.com that the Philippine government has not prioritized education as much as it ought to (July, 2014).

Thus, it is highly recommended that the state increase the annual Educational budget which all hopes of the Education Department depends to realize the full potential of the programs and plans they have laid down.

Moreover, it is undeniable that corruption still seeps into the fabric of the education system. Thus, the government should come up with strict rules to ensure proper and transparent auditing of every school’s expenditures especially with regard to their Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE).

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