How Walls Come Tumbling Down

an editorial

Recently, the Department of Education (DepEd) urged local government units (LGUs) and barangays to build more daycare centers to help address gaps in early childhood care and development in the country, with only 29% of children ages 3-5 attending daycare. Education is the foundation of society. But can education run without its very foundation? What happens when the walls built come tumbling down?

It is undeniable that the Philippines is under a critical learning crisis, with the lowest literacy rates in Southeast Asia. According to Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Philippines is behind by five to six years’ worth of schooling compared to countries at the same economic level. But why? Even after countless optimizations and curriculum reforms by DepEd over the years, why do students and even adult Filipinos still struggle with basic comprehension?

This not only affects the life of an individual Filipino, but society as a whole. Each and every Filipino possesses a role and responsibility of contributing for the prosperity and stability of all aspects of society whether as a farmer or doctor. Through education, a fundamental human right, Filipinos attain that ability to function in society, emphasizing the importance of even basic secondary education. It allows society itself to function and work.

Education consists of a step-by-step process. From Daycare to Kinder, Kinder to Elementary, so on and forth until students are able to function and lead a successful, comfortable, and fulfilling life on their own, and most importantly, contribute to society. However, when one step is missing, especially the very first, the base collapses, and the other steps tumble down and fail.

If the very foundation is missing, what will higher education build except knowledge that will collapse on itself? It is apparent that daycare is essential in education, the absence of the most basic education echoes throughout every aspect of the daily lives of Filipinos.

Difficulty with reading, basic computation, and writing, children are left behind, starting in Kindergarten, lessons often introduced and grasped in daycare, which lead to weaker and struggle with reading comprehension, mathematic analytical skills, and writing skills in higher education, lagging behind global standards. PISA 2022 results showed the Philippines ranked 6th to the last in reading and mathematics and 3rd to the last in science among 81 countries. It is a Domino-effect that continues on even in workplaces and professional careers.

Teachers and educators are obligated to adjust and cater to students and provide interventions anyway, consuming precious time and rendering daycare useless for the 29%, and wasting the potential of the gifted.

Endless K to 12 reforms, school calendar optimisations, curriculum decongestions, all have diminishing effects when they miss the crux of the issue, the missing foundation, the absence of daycare.

Although numerous factors exist to be addressed that contribute to the current learning crisis the Philippines is facing, it is vital to strengthen exact foundation of education. For what is the purpose of fixing the wall of education when the very base is the cause of its collapse?

To turn this around, LGUs should not treat daycares as an afterthought, but as a mandatory foundational block of society. Increase budget in constructing more daycare facilities, encouraging more teachers and offering sufficient pay and courses, expanding accessibility and enrollment plans, and aggressively promoting the awareness of the importance of daycare to parents, are all necessary and crucial steps in strengthening the foundation of every Filipino.

Daycare may seem small and negligible, but it teaches and reinforces the most basic skills that students will use throughout their lives, it is where education begins, and Filipinos must first recognize that. It is where the wall against failure is built. For without the foundation, the wall tumbles down.#

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The author is among Onward Dominicans's Column Writers