THE SECOND Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) is set to release its Final Report, presenting the results of its three-year assessment of the Philippine education system, along with a comprehensive 10-year National Education and Workforce Development Plan aimed at reversing the country’s worsening learning outcomes.

Titled Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reforms, the report comes at a critical time for the education sector, as data point to a deepening learning crisis.

Preliminary findings show a steady decline in learner proficiency across key stages of basic education, dropping from 30.52 percent in Grade 3 to just 0.47 percent by Grade 12.

This trend aligns with recent functional literacy data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, which indicate that only 70.8 percent of Filipinos aged 10 to 64 are functionally literate—highlighting the scale and urgency of the challenge.

Despite these sobering figures, the report also notes gains achieved over the past three years through coordinated efforts by EDCOM 2 and education agencies, including the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Among these achievements are improvements in literacy outcomes through the ARAL and Summer Remediation Programs, a 289-percent increase in textbook procurement by DepEd in 2024, and the enactment of landmark education laws.

These laws include the Early Childhood Care and Development System Act, the ARAL Program Act, the Career Progression System for Public School Teachers and School Leaders Act, and the Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act.

The Final Report also presents new 2025 findings, flagging persistent gaps in early childhood learning resources, limited coverage of nutrition interventions for children aged zero to four by the Department of Health and Department of Social Welfare and Development, the widespread practice of mass promotion in public schools, and the continued proliferation of diploma mills in higher education.

In response, EDCOM 2 will unveil a strategic 10-year National Education and Workforce Development Plan that moves beyond short-term interventions.

The roadmap proposes frontloading critical investments in the first three years while urging the government to prioritize reforms in early childhood education, early grade literacy and numeracy, classroom congestion, and teacher education and training.