Sky Cartaño 

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised concerns over the worsening learning crisis in the Philippines, citing that students are falling behind in reading and mathematics. 


During a press conference in Makati City on June 17, UNICEF Education Chief Akihiro Fushimi emphasized that the learning gaps are especially prominent in areas such as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). He noted that millions of children still lack access to quality education. 

“This is a real and widespread learning crisis,” Fushimi stressed regarding the concern within the learning crisis. 

He explained that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a two-year-long school closure in the Philippines, which prevented many children, particularly those from disadvantaged communities and families, from accessing alternative modes of learning.

Fushimi also mentioned the effects of natural disasters on the country’s education system. 

“One hundred percent of schools in the country are at risk of being affected positively and negatively by the natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, local eruptions, earthquakes, and so on,” Fushimi said, in line with natural disasters being the cause of the educational crisis. 

World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Country Director Dipayan Bhattacharrya also highlighted poverty and malnutrition as key contributors to the crisis.  

“If we choose the right kind of food, that will save the government’s money, which they otherwise would have to spend on addressing those public health concerns. That’s why we are talking about a way…that can really address malnutrition, not simply undernutrition,” Bhattacharrya stated.
As part of a week-long back-to-school campaign by the United Nations in the Philippines, he added that UNICEF, as a UN agency, is committed to supporting the Philippine government’s goal of achieving quality education.
With this, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reaffirmed their support for key programs, including alternative learning systems, school meal initiatives, comprehensive sexuality education, and education for refugees.