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Overview of Philippine Education The Philippine education system covers both formal and non-formal education. Formal education is a progression of academic schooling from elementary (grade school) to secondary (high school) and tertiary levels (TVET and higher education).

The system is tri-focalized by law into basic, technical-vocational and higher education under three different agencies: the Department of Education (DepED) headed by a Cabinet Secretary for basic education; the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) headed by a Director General for technical-vocational education and training; and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) under the Office of the Philippine President headed by the Chairperson of a collegial body of five Commissioners.

The country’s colonial history, population growth, financial funding and educational reforms all contributed to the nuances of the Philippine education system.

Challenges Despite being a middle-income country with sufficient resources to support children’s education, many Filipino children miss out on opportunities to learn. The number of children accessing education, the quality of education they receive, and the condition of their learning environment are causes for concern.

Only half of children 3 to 4 years old are enrolled in day care, and only 78 per cent complete basic education.

Many schools do not have toilets and clean water. The number of children out of school has reached 2.8 million.

Because of low investment over the past decade, outdated teaching methods and limited attention to the development of children’s social and emotional skills, Filipino children lag behind. This situation is worse for vulnerable children, including indigenous children and children living with disabilities.

Solutions To fulfil a child’s right to quality and inclusive lifelong learning, UNICEF works with the Philippine government and partners to ensure that children are ready for school and schools are ready for children.

Our aim is to increase access to formal and non-formal learning opportunities for children and adolescents by strengthening the government's capacity to improve the quality and relevance of teaching and the learning environment.

UNICEF envisions schools to be a place of convergence of services and programs for children, including nutrition, disaster risk reduction, and water, sanitation & hygiene.

It is essential that every Filipino child, whatever their circumstance, has access to learning that offers a quality, inclusive and relevant curriculum.

UNICEF advocates for greater investment in the country’s cognitive capital. With skilled teachers, engaging educational materials, basic toilets, clean water and hygiene facilities, children can acquire knowledge and socio-emotional skills they need to thrive.