One reason for the delay in reopening is the social fabric of the Philippines.
On August 22, schools in the Philippines will finally reopen to students after two and a half years — one of the longest pandemic-induced school closures in the world.
The long-term hiatus is not only destroying the individual prospects of countless children, but also threatens to leave long-term scars on an economy that has historically depended on sending highly skilled workers abroad.
Prolonged school closures deteriorate basic literacy standards and are likely to reduce children’s productivity and income once they enter the labor market, the World Bank warned in a recent report.
About 10% of Filipinos work abroad and the economy relies on remittances sent back by foreign nurses, teachers, and engineers, among others. A steady stream of graduates is also essential to the country’s drive to establish itself as an outsourcing hub for international companies and to increase the number of decent jobs closer to home.
“The impact is huge,” Arsenio Balisacan, the country’s head of economic planning, said in an interview. “The quality of the graduates we produce affects the competitiveness of our workforce.”
While lengthy school closures have plagued many countries – especially poorer ones – the problem is particularly acute in the Philippines, where the closure is one of the longest in the world, according to data from the United Nations Children’s Fund. Even now, full personal education is not planned until November.
One reason for the delay in reopening is the social fabric of the country. Households usually consist of extended families, so many children live with grandparents who are vulnerable to the virus because of their advanced age, or with other family members who may have underlying health conditions.
Fears of the virus exacerbate long-standing logistical problems in poorly funded schools, including overcrowding. Prior to the virus, public school classes of more than 60 students were common, necessitating textbook sharing and preventing any meaningful social distancing.
So while parents are baffled at their children’s lack of progress, fear of the virus has kept criticism of the government in check. Cristina Martinez, a 31-year-old vegetable seller in the coastal town of Hagonoy and mother of four, says her 10-year-old can “barely read sentences,” especially in English, the language used in science and math textbooks. “The situation is difficult for us, but I don’t think we can do much.”
To compensate for two years of insufficient learning, a program of catch-up lessons for younger students and training for university students is needed to prevent irreversible human capital loss, Balisacan said.
Success is critical if the next generation of Filipinos is to have access to quality jobs – and new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must deliver on its promise to bring the poverty rate to 9% by the end of his term in office by 2028, from 23.7% from the start of the first half of last year.
A failing education system means the country’s future workforce could have much more limited skills, says Nicholas Mapa, an economist at ING Group in Manila. “This is one of the many scars on the economy.”
Without a proper education, migrant Filipinos will look for roles in vulnerable occupations like cleaning and housework, said Susan Ople, secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers. These typically attract both worse wages and conditions.
In his inaugural address, Marcos Jr. that more money in education and reform, such as revamping curricula, is a top priority. Entry-level teachers in public elementary and secondary schools receive a monthly salary of just over $400, and primary education expenditure per child in the country is 30% below the average for low-middle-income countries, according to data from development agencies.
“We condemn the future of our race to subordinate professions abroad,” said Marcos, who advocated reform. “When we had an education system that prepared generations to come for more and better jobs, there is hope for a comeback.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
