PHILIPPINE Institute of Development Studies admitted the country is still experiencing an education crisis, and government must act quickly to address the situation.

PIDS president Dr. Aniceto Orbeta Jr. said the Department of Education must carry out thorough investigations and gather information on why the nation’s educational system is performing less compared to other countries.

“We need data to tell us what really works and what will work fast. We need solutions fast,” Orbeta said.

He asserted the quality of education is the country’s main concern rather than attendance or enrollment numbers.

Many older students are not reading-literate, he added.

At the same time, Orbeta noted a few Philippine colleges are included in the top list of universities worldwide.

Rep. Mark Go, chairman of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, concurred with Orbeta, saying more is needed to be done in addressing the Philippine education crisis.

“Major bulk of the budget of our country is allocated for basic education, primarily for public education. And because of this, there’s so many public schools during the last so many months or probably last two years that have closed,” said Go.