THE GOVERNMENT must ensure efficient procurement for children’s supplies to improve the utilization of education funds, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.
“Procurement is a very important part of a public finance system for children because its supplies that are very much needed in the schools,” UNICEF Chief of Social Policy Maya Faisal told BusinessWorld last month.
The Budget department reported that the Department of Education posted a disbursement rate of 87.7% in 2020, 90.22% in 2021, and 91.89% in 2022.
Under the 1987 Constitution, education must be allocated the biggest share of the government budget.
“It’s good to see the commitment of the government when it comes to allocation, but we want to be able to understand what is going on with execution,” Ms. Faisal said. “You have those almost you know 15%, 12% that has not been fully optimized and utilized.”
Ms. Faisal cited issues in procurement procedures and access to remote areas as major bottlenecks hampering the full utilization of education funding.
“It goes back to not having a procurement procedure that allows you to order your supplies on time, to meet the needs of the different schools, for example.”
“You have schools that might be not easily accessible, you might have population that might require different needs. So that’s also part of the picture to understand, why is it that utilization rates are lower than they should be,” she added.
The Philippines ranked 63rd out of 64 countries in an assessment ranking 15–year-old students’ creative thinking skills, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It also found that Filipino students were among the world’s weakest in math and science.
UNICEF’s Ms. Faisal also highlighted the importance of investing in the child’s first five years, particularly in health, education, and social protection, to address the learning crisis.
Investment is also needed in support services, social workers, and primary school teachers, she said.
“The employability of those sectors have to also be taken into consideration because that’s also how you address the needs of children that go beyond math and science,” Ms. Faisal said.
“It’s the social development skillsets that are equally also important in a country like the Philippines.”
Romeo Dongeto, convenor of the group Child Rights Network, said the government must take the lead in upskilling jobs supporting child development.
“The government needs to support or prioritize these vital government jobs. Social workers are expected to learn all child protection and anti-child abuse laws, which continue to be updated as society evolves, because they are few. The sheer number and volume of cases can be overwhelming for them,” he said via Viber.
“Our government needs to incentivize these roles and prioritize programs to support our child protection system.” — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz