The Republic of the Philippines has achieved major progress in enhancing access to education at all levels of education in the country. However, widespread household poverty often translates into children dropping out school and thus leading to low participation in education. This has continued to undermine the country’s educational initiatives. These shortcomings are hindering the country’s drive towards meeting the national and international commitments to education (MDGs and EFA Goals). In 2009, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in ECCE was approximately 51% and the national enrolment ratio (NER) was 39%. In 2010 the GER for primary/elementary education was 100.8%, the NER was 85%, the completion rate was 72.1% and the transition rate to secondary education was 97%. In the same year (2010), the GER and NER for secondary/ high education were 82.1% and 62.4% respectively, the completion rate was 73.7% and the overall drop-out rate was 7.9% (UNESCO 2009a, 2009b).

The quality of education is an equally glaring challenge facing the Philippines. The quality of basic education (i.e. ECCE, primary and secondary) seems to have deteriorated over the years as indicated by the low academic achievement rates of students, lack of trained teachers, inadequate classrooms (over-crowding) and textbooks. As response measures, the education sector is implementing innovative projects aimed at achieving quality education for all, such as recruitment and training of teachers, full scale implementation of School-Based Management (SBM), upgrading teaching-learning process, providing computers in every public schools and strengthening of Madrasah, among others. The most significant ongoing education reform initiative is the SBM programme, which empowers the school and the community to work together in delivering quality education aimed at improving student performance and total well-being (UNESCO 2009a, 2009b).  

The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines (1987) mandates the government to contribute financial support to all educational programmes at all levels of education in the country. Public spending on education in total as a percentage of GDP per capita is approximately 2.8% and public spending on education in total as a percentage of government expenditure is 16.9% (2008) (World Bank n.d.(d)).  ECCE is financed through a combination of public and private funds. The Government supports ECCE programmes through cost-sharing arrangements, involving Local Government Units and counterpart funds from national government agencies for technical assistance and support. Basic education continues to be the Government’s top priority and as such posts an average share of 85.8% of the entire education budget. In TVET sub-sector, private providers of TVET constitute over 60% of the delivery system and therefore bear the mantle of funding and carrying out their respective programmes. The government, on the other hand, has the responsibility of funding the activities of the remaining approximately 40% of the public sector TVET training providers. Under higher education, the public sector funds the activities of the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) – a body responsible for the operation of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and locally-funded programmes and projects. Private colleges and universities are funded through capital investments, equity contributions, tuition fees and other school charges, including grants, loans and income from other sources (UNESCO 2009a). 

The Philippines EFA 2015 Plan strives to improve the quality of basic education by: decreasing dropout rates in primary and secondary schools through effective measures; taking advantage of the active involvement of the civil society, private sector and Local Government Units (LGUs) aimed at mobilizing domestic resources for better basic education outcomes; capitalizing on proven innovations in education; and strengthening the advocacy for policy reforms, programmes and projects as reliable strategy towards the attainment of EFA goals. The Higher Education Development Plan 2001-2010 has a vision of making higher education in the Philippines the prime mover of the nation’s socio-economic growth and sustainable development through its tri-fold function of teaching, research and extension services (UNESCO 2009a).