THE LATEST findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) confirming the steady decline in learner proficiency across grade levels should surprise no one who has ever taught in a Philippine classroom. For years, teachers on the frontlines have been raising red flags. What is truly shocking is not the data itself but the reaction of some education officials, as if these results came out of thin air.
The numbers tell a troubling story. Only 30.52% of Grade 3 learners are proficient in basic literacy and numeracy. By Grade 6, the figure drops to 19.56%. In Grade 10, it plunges to 1.36%, and by Grade 12, a mere 0.4%. These are not just statistics. They represent millions of children who have been pushed through the system without mastering the skills they need to survive academically and thrive in life.
Teachers have long warned that mass promotion and the weak enforcement of the “No Read, No Promotion” policy are destroying learning foundations. When students who cannot read or do basic math are advanced year after year, the gap only widens.
EDCOM 2 itself reports that by age 15, Filipino learners suffer an average learning deficit of 5.5 years. This is not a mystery. It is the predictable outcome of policies that favor completion over comprehension.
The situation is made worse by overcrowded classrooms. In many public schools, one teacher handles 40 to 60 students, or even more. Under such conditions, meaningful remediation is nearly impossible. Add to this the lack of textbooks, aging school buildings, and limited access to learning tools, and it becomes clear why both teachers and learners are struggling to keep up.
Global assessments confirm what local educators already know. UNICEF and the World Bank report that 91% of Filipino children at late primary age cannot read and understand a simple story. In PISA 2022, 76% of Filipino 15-year-olds failed to reach the minimum proficiency level in reading. These are not isolated shortcomings; they reflect a system that has neglected its most basic responsibilities.
Yet despite these realities, teachers remain overworked, underpaid, and often unheard. Their daily struggles – managing large classes, helping non-readers catch up, working with outdated materials, dealing with self-entitled parents, performing a list of other non-teaching related functions – rarely influence national policy. Instead, many decisions are made far from the classroom, producing reforms that look impressive on paper but feel disconnected from real school conditions.
What the system needs is not surprise, but sincerity. Reduce class sizes. Enforce literacy and numeracy standards before promotion. End mass promotion. Improve school facilities. Provide adequate learning resources. Increase subsidies for private schools that help serve overcrowded communities. Above all, listen to teachers not just in token consultations, but in shaping actual policy.
The learning crisis did not happen overnight, and it will not be solved by press statements or new slogans. Real change begins with honest acknowledgment of what teachers have been saying all along: you cannot improve learning outcomes without improving the conditions in which teaching and learning take place.
For Filipino teachers who continue to show up despite limited support, the data is not a revelation but a painful validation. The real test now is whether those in power are finally ready to listen.
