SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian has pressed the need to strengthen learners’ foundations to improve their performance and address the crisis in the education sector.

Gatchalian emphasized the importance of prioritizing children’s nutrition during their first 1,000 days, early childhood education, and literacy by Grade 3.

The EDCOM II’s Year Two Report titled ‘Fixing the Foundations’ highlights the vulnerability of Filipino children during their formative years. The report found that only 25% of Filipino children, particularly infants aged 6 to 12 months, meet the recommended energy intake.

It also pointed out that one in four Filipino children under five years old is stunted.

The lack of access to child development centers (CDCs) is one reason families do not enroll their children in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) programs. Despite the mandate of the Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act (Republic Act 6972) to construct a daycare center in every barangay, CDCs are still absent in 5,822 barangays.

Gatchalian noted that the enactment of the Early Childhood Care and Development Act (Senate Bill No. 2575) will help address these issues by expanding the National ECCD System to all cities, municipalities, and provinces.

The commission also flagged that far too many students enter Grade 4 with skills equivalent to Grade 2 or 3. The EDCOM report cited a forthcoming UNICEF study that found, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino students exiting Grade 3 were a year behind in terms of literacy.

Gatchalian stressed the need to effectively implement the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, a learning recovery intervention created under the ARAL Program Act (Republic Act No. 12028).

“All of these findings point to a clear and singular message: we must act to fix the foundations of our education system. It is imperative that as we face an avalanche of concerns, we sift through the list and prioritize those that are foundational for our students,” said Gatchalian.