Education and Literacy in the Philippines

For children in the Philippines who are between the ages of 7 and 12, education is compulsory and free. Although some families send their children to private school, most children attend public school. The Philippine educational system itself is similar to the American school system, but unlike America which starts school in August or September and goes through May or June, the Philippines starts school in June and ends in March. The universities follow the June ~ March school year as well, except they follow the system of using semesters (June-October, November-March). In the schools, English is the main language of instruction, although Filipino and local dialects are sometimes used - particularly in the lower grades. The literacy rate of the adult population is about 94%.

During the late 1980s, elementary schools enrolled about 9.2 million students. Secondary schools had some 3.4 million students enroll, while 1.1 million were attending the 162 colleges and universities, both public and private, found in the Philippines. By the mid-90's. there were about 11.5 million students enrolled in elementary schools with almost 5 million enrolled in secondary schools and about 1.8 million enrolled in universities and colleges. Illiteracy in the Philippines may be because of several factors like: 1. poor families can't afford to send their children to school 2. some people in very remote places have no access to schools, books, learning materials or teachers 3. some would rather work at an early age than to go to school or 4. some parents don't want to send their children to school so that they (the children) would work instead

Connect Illiteracy to Violence

Anecdotal evidence from women in literacy programs reveals that violence frequently played a role in their inability to participate in or complete schooling, or to learn successfully. This suggests that statistics of childhood experiences of violence may be far higher for students in adult literacy programs than in the general population. Although many women who experienced severe violence in childhood may have too little belief in their ability to get themselves into a literacy program, it is not uncommon for all the students in a womens literacy group to disclose stories of violent experiences (Horsman, 2000). In Canada, in spite of compulsory schooling, I interviewed women who had rarely attended school, having been pulled out of school by abusive fathers arguing that taking care of children and the household was the only education a girl needed. Many others who experienced violence in the home during childhood spoke of getting little from school because they were too "shy" to ask for help, too disturbed to be able to stay present and pay attention, too busy acting out and getting into trouble (Horsman, 1990).
New Understandings about Literacy

Literacy is best described as a set of social practices, rather than simply a skill If we think of literacy only as a skill then it is easy to slide into seeing the person as simply lacking something she should have, and needing remediation to counteract the deficit. If we see it as a set of social practices then it is easier to see that some societies have chosen to privilege literacy and that using print is only one way to obtain knowledge or to communicate.

Illiteracy is a social problem not an individual problem Although society's practices and policies construct illiteracy, individuals who fail to learn to read well are judged lazy, unmotivated, stupid, and an economic drain on the rest of "us." Illiteracy does not cause other social problems Many social problems - such as poverty, violence, racism and ableism - are interconnected with illiteracy. They are not caused by illiteracy. In a society shaped by inequality and oppression, illiteracy is one factor that can lead to marginalization and mistreatment. Violence contributes to learning difficulties When children are hurt, abused, or put down they learn that they are stupid and worthless. When they are humiliated or discriminated against because of their class, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, or some other aspect of their selves, learning is made harder. Illiteracy is created through the education system Because schools share societal assumptions they teach and validate the forms of literacy practised and taught within white, middle-class families, and devalue and even obscure awareness of the diverse literacy practices and multitude of different ways of knowing, practised within other cultures and communities. Students who fit, learn. People who have difficulties with literacy are not childlike Nor are they stupid, helpless, imprisoned, "poor souls" or abnormal. They have strengths and weaknesses and "read" many things well. These stereotypes lead people who do not easily understand print or professional language to avoid professionals, or to conceal their difficulties, for fear of being judged.

Reading is Fundamental. Thus reads an ad by an anti-illiteracy advocate group. Yet many children and adults through-out the world are unable to read that particular message due to functional illiteracy. Functional illiteracy refers to the inability of a person to use his skills in reading, writing and counting to improve his life. The latest figures by the UNESCO institute of statistics have it at 504 million illiterates in Asia Pacific. In the Philippines alone according to the Functional Literacy Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) about 2.8 million Filipinos could not read and write while 7.4 million others are functionally illiterate. Its as if illiteracy is the neglected enemy in public service. So who pays when Juan cant read? It is society itself. What contributes to this social problem that many are faced with? Illiteracy is not caused by a lack of intelligence. It is often a result of outside factors such as poverty, lack of literacy within the family and learning disabilities. Problems, I believe, that can be addressed through collective effort. Whats important is to have people understand that if we all shared our own little way of helping others, many can improve their way of life. Here are some ways that we can help in our communities with the problem of illiteracy: 1. Be tolerant for those who cant read or write 2. Become a volunteer 3. Be a model for younger children 4.Donate funds for scholarships 5. Donate reading and learning materials 6. Become literate yourself How fortunate we are to be able to have the skills to read and write. Through our own little effort the battle against illiteracy can be solved.