RP under fire for lack of mandatory kindergarten

LUBAO, Pampanga, Philippines – The Philippines is under fire from the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) for not having mandatory kindergarten in public schools, according to former education secretary Jesli Lapus.

He said many underprivileged kids miss out on well-balanced development because they did not have pre-school education. He cited studies that show that 50 percent of a person’s brain formation stops at five years.

“In public schools, the children are denied that opportunity to fully develop their mental faculties by five years of age,” Lapus said in an interview here with The STAR.

“There is social injustice there. Already, we are under fire from the UNESCO on this matter,” he lamented.

The Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia with 10 years of basic education; the rest have 12 years.

In launching its monitoring report on “Education for All, Overcoming Inequality: Why Governance Matters” last November, the UNESCO listed the Philippines as among the governments allegedly depriving children of basic literacy and numeric skills because they have failed to address “deep and persistent” inequalities in education.

The Philippines is committed to achieve by 2015 the UNESCO’s goal of Education for All which calls for better and more possibilities to support young children (0-6 yrs.) and their families and communities in all the areas where the child is growing – physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually.

In support of the Filipino children’s holistic development, Lapus has urged the next Congress to pass a bill making kindergarten mandatory in all public schools.

He said that President Arroyo, whose term expires on June 30, has already taken action on this issue by implementing kindergarten in many public elementary schools, even without any legislation.

“We already have 1.4 million pupils in kindergarten in these schools, but there are still about 700,000 kids left out,” he said.

Lapus said legislation would still be needed for mandatory kindergarten since only Congress could provide regular budget for it.

“One grade level added to the 10-year grade cycle (including four years in high school) would require 10 percent of the (education) budget,” he noted.

He described the need for kindergarten in public schools as “very crucial.”

“If we have to prioritize anything, it should be mandatory kindergarten, “ he said, noting that at present, many public school pupils drop out upon reaching Grade 3 because of academic difficulties, among other reasons.

“The pupils in public schools are not given the needed early childhood training, while those belonging to wealthy families have three years of pre-schooling before landing in Grade 1,” he said.

He said “there is no use adding Grade 7 or Grade 8 to the cycle if the pupils drop out in Grade 3.”

Lapus said that the Arroyo administration has allocated some P16 billion for basic education needs, including the establishment of public school kindergarten.

He stressed that daycare centers nationwide have already been absorbed by the DepEd and its teachers are now receiving regular pay from the national government.

“So there’s no reason why daycare centers should charge fees. The absorption of daycare centers by the DepEd should add up to the savings for parents,” he stressed. –Ding Cervantes (The Philippine Star)