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Researched by: Bai Princess Bea Alliana L. Paglas

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URL: https://www.facebook.com/share/1E8HYa8BVE/?mibextid=wwXIfr

TITLE: The Education Gap: Why Access Matters

AUTHOR: Junah Grace Castillo

KEY INFO: It highlights the difficulties faced by children from low-income families in accessing schools with qualified teachers, updated learning materials, and adequate facilities. It emphasizes the need for greater attention to educational infrastructure and government intervention.

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URL: https://mindanaotimes.com.ph/fresh-viewpoints-alternative-learning-system-opportunities-for-marginalized-filipinos/

TITLE: FRESH VIEWPOINTS: Alternative Learning System: Opportunities for marginalized Filipinos

AUTHOR: Brian James Lu, journalist for Mindanao Times

DATE PUBLISHED: December 29, 2024

KEY INFO: The ALS traces its origins to 2004, a groundbreaking initiative of the Department of Education (DepEd), which aimed to address the pressing issue of OSCYA. Recognizing that formal education was inaccessible to millions due to poverty, geographical barriers, and other socio-economic challenges.

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URL:

https://pids.gov.ph/details/nat-l-and-local-interventions-underway-to-address-ips-educational-disparities-in-mindanao#:~:text=Nat'l%20and%20local%20interventions,(PIDS)%20President%20Celia%20Reyes

TITLE: Nat'l and local interventions underway to address IPs educational disparities in Mindanao

AUTHOR: Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)

KEY INFO: Mindanao ranks low in terms of enrolment rates in basic education, literacy, and school completion (from grades 1 to 6), while it ranks high in terms of school dropouts. Regions 9, 12, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) exhibited the lowest net enrolment rates in elementary and secondary education in 2017. The net enrolment rates in Region 9 is 90.3 percent, 91.9 percent in Region 12, and 72.6 percent in BARMM,”

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Nat'l and local interventions underway to address IPs educational disparities in Mindanao

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The government is exerting efforts to improve the access of ethnic groups to education, especially those who are in Mindanao, said Philippine Institut

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URL:

https://www.unicef.org/philippines/stories/every-child-bangsamoro-education

TITLE: For every child in Bangsamoro, an education

AUTHOR: UNICEF

DATE PUBLISHED: October 28, 2019

KEY INFO: About 48.5 percent of indigenous children in BARMM attend elementary school but only 11.2 percent complete basic education. A combination of armed conflict, exclusion and marginalization, and many families valuing immediate livelihood needs over the education of their children, have contributed in lagging education.

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SOUTH UPI, Maguindanao, Philippines -Lizabel starts her day in pre-dawn hours. With a homemade lamp in hand, she makes her way through the darkness to a spring 500 meters away to take a bath. Her village, to this day, does not have electricity.

The 11-year-old meets up with her cousins and neighbors by the spring to wash up and get ready for another grueling day. The girls would then drop by their grandmother's to help prepare breakfast and the meal they would bring to school.

On a typical day, breakfast is either boiled cassava or banana which they eat on their way to school. Lunch is ground corn, a cheap alternative to white rice that their families cannot afford. On better days, the children get a small dried fish each on top of the vegetables and ground corn.

A long walk from home
By 5 AM, Lizabel and her friends begin the three-hour trek to the village center, arriving just in time for school, sometimes even late. Braving the semi-dark hours through cornfields and rivers has been Lizabel's routine for going to school for the past six years. The children flock together during the walk to avoid any danger on the way.

Lizabel belongs to the indigenous Teduray, a tribe of upland farmers, in South Upi, Maguindanao, in Southern Philippines. Her family lives in the outskirts of the village, three hours from the town center. In the absence of public transportation, walking is the only way for Lizabel and her friends in the area to get to school.

"It is difficult. I arrive at school already tired from walking and hungry too. I sometimes sleep in class. I cannot help it," Lizabel admits.

Despite the early start, she often arrives late for class.

"We teachers know Lizabel as the girl with a beautiful handwriting," says Jocelyn Palao, a teacher from the same tribe. "She has potential, but she doesn't participate during class activities and sometimes struggles to focus on lessons. But I can't blame her because she walks a long way from home," she adds.

Lizabel's story represents the plight of children whose access to school is very limited or difficult. There are at least 213 barangays in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) where children do not have access to any learning facility. This problem is affecting over 45,000 primary school aged children.

Her hometown South Upi is located in BARMM, the most disadvantaged region in the Philippines in terms of socio-economic indicators. School enrolment and completion rates are much lower in BARMM compared to the national average in the Philippines.

About 48.5 percent of indigenous children in BARMM attend elementary school but only 11.2 percent complete basic education.

A combination of armed conflict, exclusion and marginalization, and many families valuing immediate livelihood needs over the education of their children, have contributed in lagging education.

Similar issues are faced by Lizabel's 13-year-old cousin Jinalyn studying in seventh grade. Jinalyn's teacher in South Upi National High School, Mr. Hermane Eslabon Jr., explained that 40% of students live far away from the school. In addition to acute poverty and the exhausting daily walks to schools, the children are also expected to help parents in the fields in the harvesting seasons. They cannot cope with school work, perform poorly and most drop out from school.

Sheer determination
In school, Lizabel looks up to Jocelyn, her patient and supportive teacher who encourages her. "I feel like a second parent, and that it is my duty to educate children of my tribe. I understand their hardship. Their parents are occupied in the fields all day to make a living. They are not able to help their children at home," Jocelyn shares.

Rain or shine, Lizabel has shown her commitment to come to school every day. But the daily trek of six hours to and from school is wearing off her little body.

Yet, for many indigenous girls in the region, Lizabel's situation is still better than the sad alternative. Staying in school can protect her from child marriage, child labor, domestic violence, and give her the hope to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty.

"I go to school because I want to learn. I want to be a teacher someday," she says with the determination that could only come from someone who faces life-threatening conditions just to get to school every day.

Vision for the future
Lizabel will complete her primary education this school year. Hopefully, she will join her cousin Jinalyn in South Upi National High School. For tertiary education, they can opt for the nearest vocational school in the neighboring town of North Upi or more advanced colleges in Cotabato City. The question remains: Can their parents send them to school or will they drop out just as most children and youth in their community?

The Philippine Development Plan (2017-2022) targets economic growth for all Filipinos to become globally competitive. The progress goes beyond economic growth and peace and trust building are essential to ensure that every child, including those who are marginalized, disadvantaged, and living in poverty-stricken, remote or indigenous communities, get a quality basic education.
For every child, an education. This is the first in a series of CRC@30 Philippines stories gathered by Shirin Bhandari, Teresa Cerojano, Claro Cortes, Jeoffrey Maitem, Charena Escala, Arby Laraño and Iris Lapid, with fact checks, technical and editorial inputs by a UNICEF Philippines team.

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For every child in Bangsamoro, an education

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Over 45,000 children in the Bangsamoro region don't have access to a school

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URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keOuPeHApcg

TITLE: PH Student leaders oppose budget cuts for SUCs

AUTHOR: ANC

DATE PUBLISHED: November 4, 2022

Key Info: Latrell Felix, Chairperson of the University Student Council of U.P Diliman expresses the opinions and sayings of their fellow council on how the budget cuts can negatively impact many students including the low-income ones.

The relevance to our SDG or tackled problem is on how the government's budget affects all Filipino students, including those from Mindanao. This lack of government support underscores the issue of students from low income backgrounds or families unable to attain higher and quality education.

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PH Student leaders oppose budget cuts for SUCs | ANC

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URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8NSmRFur-g

TITLE: COVID-19: Philippine schools struggle to educate poor children

AUTHOR: Al Jazeera

DATE PUBLISHED: September 10, 2020

KEY INFO: Due to decades of disposition and displacement as Indigenous people or low-income families, COVID's added factor has made expenses to access quality education costly. These countrymen have lost connections to proper water sources, lost jobs, and are unable to connect to the wifi let alone access the internet due to the government's implemented lockdown.

This relevancy to our SDG/ problem is how the indigenous people, or students as they are, face challenges to reach quality education with the shift into quarantine based online classes with gadgets and internet they can barely even afford. The government's lack of support for these people have grown evident as some have been greatly affected by the large educational gap.

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COVID-19: Philippine schools struggle to educate poor children

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URL: https://tribune.net.ph/2023/10/01/low-education-funding-underpins-phl-learning-crisis-study/

TITLE: Low education funding underpins Phl learning crisis

AUTHOR: The Daily Tribune

DATE PUBLISHED: 01 Oct 2023

KEY INFO: A study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies reveals that while government spending on education and training has grown, it remains insufficient compared to the Philippines' more developed counterparts, leading to poor learning outcomes and low educational quality among students.

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Low education funding underpins Phl learning crisis — study

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Government investment in education and training has increased but still remains low compared to the Philippines’ more developed peers, resulting in students’ po

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Researched by: Bai Princess Bea Alliana L. Paglas 

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URL: https://youtu.be/ISTat1JEX8c

TITLE: Digitising dreams across Mindanao, Philippines

AUTHOR: LifeHaus International

DATE PUBLISHED: May 22, 2023

KEY INFO: The video highlights the struggles of schools in Mindanao, particularly in underprivileged areas, where students face significant challenges in accessing quality education. A major issue is the lack of government investment in educational infrastructure, such as adequate classrooms, learning materials, and digital tools. The absence of proper support has left many students unable to keep up with modern educational standards, especially during the shift to online learning caused by the pandemic.

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Digitising dreams across Mindanao, Philippines.

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Researched by: Bai Princess Bea Alliana L. Paglas

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URL:

https://www.unicef.org/philippines/stories/mindanao-youth-call-lasting-peace-quality-education-and-environment-protection?utm_source=chatgpt.com

TITLE: Mindanao youth call for lasting peace, quality education, and environment protection

AUTHOR: Mike Saycon

DATE PUBLISHED: June 27, 2023

KEY INFO: Marawi, Lanao del Sur, 27 June 2023 –They cannot vote, sign legal documents, or represent themselves in Court. Young people are not involved in any policy-making process even if these pertain to issues that directly affect them.

Consultations on child protection and peacebuilding issues have also highlighted their lived experiences including the risks of radicalisation to extremist causes partly due to lack of opportunities for positive development, and limited access to special education facilities and non-inclusiveness to children with disabilities. As part of their community visits leading up to formal parliamentary work, the delegates visited communities where children may be exposed to extremist propaganda; as well as a Special Education Centre to tackle the lack of facilities and safe inclusive space for children with disabilities.

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320 low-income college students to get free education

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At least 320 low-income students are set to avail of free education at the local government-run City College of Davao (CCD), an official has said. The school, set to open on August 7 for Academic Year 2023-2024, will cater to the “poorest of the poor” Dabawenyo students, CCD…

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URL:https://youtu.be/uBqjVGBolXo?si=BV4hProlnORm2C9U

TITLE: Philippines' Failing schools

DATA PUBLISHED: February 21, 2019

AUTHOR: Al Jazeera English

KEY INFO:State-run schools in the Philippines are suffering from years of neglect and a lack of government investment.

Even though primary education is mandatory in the country, on average more than 40 per cent of students are expected to drop out before they finish high school.  For those who do stay in school, there is often not enough teachers, classrooms or books.

The Philippines spent just $138 on average for each of its school children in 2008.

As the lack of support for education unravels, the group Education Network is pushing harder for reform.

Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas reports on how the declining school system is trapping many Filipinos in a cycle of illiteracy and poverty.

This is relevant to our topic, as this crisis is still ongoing especially in mindanao. Many students are still experiencing financial problems. This feature represents the struggles of the students expriencing it.

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URL: https://issuu.com/mindanaodevelopmentauthority/docs/mindanao_in_figures_2021

TITLE: Mindanao in Figures
AUTHOR: Mindanao Development Authority

DATA PUBLISHED: August 26, 2021

KEY INFO: The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had an elementary school graduation rate of 86.6% and a secondary school graduation rate of 94.1%, which are lower compared to other regions. This is perpetuated by the lack of emphasis and focus of authorities and government support on students from underprivileged backgrounds in ARMM, making them unable to reach higher education.

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Face-to-face classes back, but can these reduce 91% learning poverty in ...

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Found on Bing from newsinfo.inquirer.net

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URL: https://bangsamoro.gov.ph/news/latest-news/barmm-assesses-quality-of-education-in-sulu-thru-school-to-school-visitation/

TITLE: BARMM assesses quality of education in Sulu thru school-to-school visitation

DATE PUBLISHED: October 23, 2024

AUTHORS: Bangsamoro Information Office

KEY INFO: To gauge the overall performance of Sulu Schools Division for academic year 2022-2023, the team scrutinized the division’s accomplishment report. The report was examined by MBHTE’s Monitoring and Evaluation of Basic Education Directorate, headed by Camilo Bangcola.

During reporting, several issues were discussed including student retention and dropouts. The challenges associated with livelihoods and students transferring to other divisions were identified as primary factors underpinning the issues. The lack of assessments and support from local authorities for these students seem to also worsen the identified issues.

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URL: https://peaceaccords.nd.edu/provision/education-reform-mindanao-final-agreement?utm_source=chatgpt.com

TITLE: Education Reform: Mindanao Final Agreement

DATE PUBLISHED: 2019

AUTHORS: Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

KEY INFO: The education articles in the 1996 accord call for ARMM schools to follow the same basic structure as the national Filipino school system in regards to standards and guidelines. The GRP’s primary implementation responsibility is to provide equal opportunity to education in the ARMM. In practical terms, this should mean proportionate funding, or an equitable share of funding, for ARMM schools – relative to the population size of the ARMM. Based on information gathered from the GRP National Statistics Office, the amount of money allocated to the ARMM educational system seems to be equitable relative to the funding of the other provinces, although these statistics do not go back to1996. According to the latest Department of Education Budget, 1.6 billion pesos (38.2 million U.S. dollars) were spent on Kindergarten education, for example. The ARMM received 52.1 million pesos (1.2 million U.S. dollars). The ARMM received 3.14 % of the entire Kindergarten budget for the country.¹ Based on population statistics, the population of the ARMM was 3.15% of the total population. Hence, it appears that the GRP allocates educational funding based closely on population figures.² Based on data from the fiscal yearbooks, we estimate that the GRP contributes an equitable share of funding to ARMM schools relative to the population size of the ARMM.

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Experiences of Low-Income Students in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs): Basis in Conceptualizing a Student Support System

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This study described the experiences of low-income students with a focus on how they became successful or unsuccessful en route towards the completion of their academic degrees. The descriptive-qualitative type of research utilizing the multiple case

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URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxkv7fZyChw

TITLE: In the classroom: the Mindanao children of the Philippines
DATE PUBLISHED: March 28, 2020

AUTHORS: BRAC

KEY INFO: The documentary In the Classroom: The Mindanao Children of the Philippines highlights the educational challenges faced by children in Mindanao, particularly those from low-income and conflict-affected areas. It addresses issues such as limited access to quality education due to insufficient infrastructure, the disruption caused by ongoing conflict, and the high costs of schooling that many families cannot afford. Despite these challenges, local communities and NGOs strive to provide educational opportunities through creative solutions, but systemic problems and lack of government support continue to hinder progress.

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In the classroom: the Mindanao children of the Philippines

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URL: https://web.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=1110841669540897

TITLE: Transfiguring Mindanao: Conversation Series on the Mindanao Underdevelopment Experience

DATE PUBLISHED: August 31, 2022

AUTHOR: Dr. Eduardo C. Tadem, Dr. Joseph Y. Lim, Ms. Ma. Ritchell Abordo, and Dr. Arnold Tuaño. Dr. Tadem

KEY INFO: The webinar will feature Dr. Eduardo C. Tadem, Dr. Joseph Y. Lim, Ms. Ma. Ritchell Abordo, and Dr. Arnold Tuaño. Dr. Tadem will discuss the typical paradox happening in Mindanao where there is heightened economic growth and a marginalized and impoverished working population. Dr. Lim and Ms. Abordo will discuss what drags the economy of the provinces and regions in Mindanao and it will further expound on the various courses of action to be effected in order to alleviate poverty in the archipelago. Lastly, Dr. Tuaño will give us an overview of trends in poverty, welfare, and human development in the region and identify the challenges necessary to improve its socio-economic welfare. This webinar covers the underdevelopment issues of Mindanao and examines data from the Family Income Expenditure Survey, highlighting the economic challenges faced by low-income families in the region.

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How underfunding public schools hurts students | Paul "Jake" Watson | TEDxUCO

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URL: https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4195591/v1/f840650c-c27a-4538-8ca2-3057f5e21084.pdf?c=1723448973

TITLE: Educational Resilience among Tausug Indigenous People in Remote Communities: Basis for Policy Formulation

AUTHOR: Allen I. Talikan, Rozia A. Ajan, Wedar S. Mami, Abdulla I. Mohammad, Rufaida S. Salapuddin, Maryjoy A. Busaña, Abubakar J. Radjuni, Nurjia Undug, Padzmahal Jayani, and Wijra Samain

DATE PUBLISHED: April 19. 2024

KEY INFO: This study examined the educational resilience among the Tausug people, an indigenous Muslim group living in the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines. Despite their rich cultural heritage, the Tausug face various challenges in accessing quality education, such as geographic isolation, poverty, cultural barriers, and social conict. The concept of educational resilience focuses on how individual, familial, community, and systemic factors interact to inuence educational achievement. This research investigated how the Tausug way of life, rooted in Islamic tradition and cultural practices, promotes educational resilience. The study employed a descriptive research method, conducting individual unstructured interviews. The participants included different school stakeholders. The data analysis revealed the challenges faced by the Tausug, such as remote locations, limited resources, nancial constraints, and traditional gender roles. However, the study also identied coping strategies such as communal support systems, valuing education for improving lives, and aspiring for a better future. The Tausug's resilient spirit is evident in their strong sense of respect for elders, and cultural values on knowledge. These elements create an environment that nurtures learning and provides the necessary support to achieve educational goals. Based on these ndings, the study proposes policy recommendations to enhance educational access, including decentralized education with targeted funding and resource sharing, culturally responsive teacher training programs, scholarships and nancial aid programs to address nancial barriers, addressing geographic isolation through infrastructure development and transportation solutions, culturally sensitive curriculum materials, and integration of local knowledge, as well as community engagement initiatives to encourage parental involvement and establish community learning centers.