SONA 2025: Marcos admits 'reality' of PH education woes, vows reforms
During his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos acknowledged issues confronting Filipino learners today, including widespread learning poverty, high dropout rates, and persistent gaps in reading, math, and science proficiency.
"Malinaw sa atin ang tumambad na realidad tungkol sa ating mga kabataan ngayon—ang kakulangan sa kaalaman at kakayahan, lalo na sa matematika, sa agham, sa pagbabasa, at sa wastong pag-unawa," the President said.
(The reality that has emerged regarding our youth today is clear: the lack of knowledge and skills, especially in math, science, reading, and comprehension.)
Expanded support
Highlighting his administration's ongoing efforts to eradicate the learning crisis, Marcos touted the rollout of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program for structured interventions in foundational skills.
The President also stressed the conduct of summer tutorials and remedial classes, which will be expanded further.
Based on the 2022 results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Philippines ranked sixth lowest among the 81 countries and economies that participated in the study, with Filipino learners continuing to lag behind in reading, math, and science. Filipino students ranked second to the last when it comes to creative thinking.
READ | Where is PH now in terms of learning recovery?
Earlier this month, the nongovernment group Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) sounded the alarm on the worsening state of Philippine education, calling for urgent decentralization and localized reform delivery to address what it called as a "generational crisis" in learning and workforce readiness.
The President assured that education remains the most urgent priority of his administration, even more than infrastructure spending.
"Sa lahat ng mga pinahahalagahan ng administrasyon, ito pa rin ang nasa rurok (Of all the priorities of this Administration, this remains at the very top)," he stressed.
Classroom shortage
To address infrastructure gaps in education, Marcos committed to construct 40,000 classrooms before the end of his term in partnership with the private sector.
He urged Congress to allocate sufficient funding to meet the growing demand, even as he reported that 22,000 classrooms have been built over the last three years.
"Hindi na dapat nabibitin ang oras nila sa klase dahil sa kakulangan sa classroom (Students should no longer lose class hours due to lack of classrooms)," he said.
Marcos also underscored the importance of early childhood education, announcing the construction of over 300 Barangay Child Development and Bulilit Centers this year, particularly in underserved communities. Additional funding of P1 billion will be provided to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the construction effort. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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