The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $300 million loan to support the Philippine government’s efforts to achieve inclusive growth by improving access to high-quality secondary education that responds to labor market needs.
The Secondary Education Support Program will benefit about 10.6 million students nationwide currently enrolled in high school and an additional 2 million grade 7 entrants yearly from 2019 to 2023. It will help the country boost job opportunities and substantially reduce poverty. The government has set a target of lowering poverty to 14% by 2022 from the current 21%.
“Sustaining the Philippines’ strong growth momentum will require a workforce equipped with the appropriate set of advanced skills and knowledge to allow them to keep in step with the rapid technological changes in the global economy,” said ADB Senior Education Specialist for Southeast Asia Ms. Lynnette Perez. “Continued investments in high-quality education are crucial to attaining the government’s vision of lowering unemployment and poverty rates.”
While reforms in the Philippine secondary education system have shown progress, enrollment and graduation rates remain low, especially among students from the poorest households. The government is continuing to address the challenges to quality education by, for example, deploying adequate numbers of specialized teachers, providing sufficient teaching resources, and ensuring the alignment of the curriculum to labor market needs.
The results-based Secondary Education Support Program will help the government sustain its reforms, particularly in offering the poor greater access to better, affordable education. It will disburse funds to the government based on the achievement of agreed reform targets within a specific period. ADB is providing technical assistance to the Department of Education to ensure they achieve targeted reforms and priorities, which are aligned with the Philippine Development Plan.
Original source: ADB
Published on 27 May 2019
