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Monday, March 05, 2007
Local governments told: Invest more in schools
By Linette C. Ramos
CEBU CITY -- Government may be on the right track in reducing poverty and malnutrition, civil society groups said, but it has to spend more to keep children in school and increase access to reproductive health services.
Specifically, the National Government was asked to work on achieving universal primary education, and make sure each Filipino child finishes at least grade school.
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For Social Watch Philippines, an increase in funding for basic social services is needed both in the national and local level if the Philippines is to eradicate poverty and hunger and ensure universal education by 2015.
Statistics from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) showed that only 88.4 percent of the country's school-aged children are in school, or still 11.6 per cent short of the 100 percent target by 2015.
Seven years after the Philippines and 188 other countries committed to achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs), the government still has to work more so the goals can be achieved before the deadline, said Professor Leonor Briones, co-convener of Social Watch Philippines.
She emphasized the crucial role of local government units (LGUs) in generating funds for MDGs since there is not enough funding for it from the National Government.
"The more important challenge is to focus on how to finance the MDGs at the LGUs, how to cascade the programs from national to the local level, and how to raise awareness among the local officials and make them commit to achieving the goals," Briones said.
Briones was one of the speakers at the seminar-workshop on "Reporting on the MDGs." The seminar was conducted by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Neda for journalists from Manila and the Visayas.
On top of the allocation for basic social services in the reenacted 2007 budget, a P222-billion budget specifically for MDG programs is awaiting the President's approval.
"Unless the necessary additional resources are raised, the Philippines will fail to meet its commitment to achieving seven of the eight MDG targets," Briones warned.
Aside from poverty reduction and achieve universal primary education, the Millennium Declaration also seeks to promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, fight HIV and Aids, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development.
While the Philippines has a "low" chance of achieving universal primary education according to Neda, it has made tremendous achievements in ensuring gender equality in society.
It has even exceeded the target for 2015, said Neda Social Development Staff Marites Lagarto.
In public elementary schools, the ratio of girls to 100 boys is 101.8, while the ratio in secondary schools is 115.9 girls to 100 boys.
Lagarto also highlighted the country's dismal elementary cohort survival rate, or the percentage of enrollees at the beginning grade or year in a given school year who reached the final grade of the required number of years of study.
At present, the elementary cohort survival rate in the country is only 64.15 percent. The target rate by 2015 is 83 percent. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (March 5, 2007 issue)
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