Overview
Boys, and those from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds in the Philippines have less access to nursery school, kindergarten, or preschool (or early childhood education [ECE]).
A significant proportion of children have not had ECE at all. This likely impacts children’s educational attainment in later levels of schooling, as those who attended preschool attained higher scores for reading, writing and mathematics at Grade 5 than those who did not. There is, however, no standard and reliable data source on the number of children aged 0–2 years enrolled in early learning programmes.
In the Philippines, ECE for 3–4-year-old children is commonly called “preschool,” which is a devolved service to local government units. ECE for 5-year-old children is “kindergarten” and it is the mandate of the Department of Education (DepEd).
The ages between birth and 5 years are critical for a child’s short- and long-term development, and ECE can have lasting positive impacts on children’s academic and social well-being outcomes.
Despite this difference in primary duty bearer, ECE is defined as nursery school, kindergarten or preschool between birth and 5 years of age. ECE is monitored through:
- the share of Grade 5 students with at least 1 year of ECE experience by gender, socioeconomic status, geographic location and school type
- the mean scores of Grade 5 students in reading, writing and mathematics by preschool education, and;
- the percentage of Grade 5 students who repeated grades by ECE attendance.
The most disadvantaged in ECD are young children with disabilities and developmental delays, those in emergencies, and those who experience violence, abuse and severe neglect.
According to the ECDI2030, 77% of children aged 24–59 months are on track in terms of health, learning, and psychosocial well-being.
Early childhood development increases with increasing household wealth. Children in the lowest socioeconomic class, (66%), those born to women who have no education (47%) Children aged 48–59 months (69%) lag in achieving age-appropriate milestones and may require additional stimulation and care to catch up on their developmental goals.
Child Rights Situation Analysis
About four in five children aged 3-4 years have not attended early childhood education in the country in 2022 while only one in five children aged five years has not attended Kindergarten.
In the first year of the pandemic in 2020, almost all 3-4-year-olds did not attend school and one in five children aged 5 years was reported not attending school.
In 2022, nearly four in every five children or 76.3 per cent of children participated in organized learning one year before the official primary education entry age (net enrolment rate in Kindergarten), a modest increase from 72.4 per cent in 2021 but still far from the 83.7 per cent registered in 2017, which was the highest rate since 2010. There was a higher net enrolment rate in Kindergarten among girls than among boys — 78.4 per cent to 74.4 per cent, respectively, in 2022.
Of those children who attended preschool in 2019, slightly more than half, 54.2 per cent attended for two years or more, and less than half attended for one year (2019 SEA-PLM Report).
More girls have ECE experience than boys. The pattern is the same for either urban or rural areas. A much larger proportion from the highest socioeconomic background, at 93 per cent, were found to have at least one year of ECE than those from the lowest socioeconomic background, at 83 per cent.
Ninety-five per cent of children enrolled in Grade 5 in private schools had ECE experience. In contrast, a much lower 84 per cent of children who were enrolled in public schools had ECE experience.
Attendance in preschool education indicates better proficiency in basic or essential learning domains. Those who attended preschool education obtained significantly higher mean scores in reading, writing and mathematics. This highlights the importance of preschool education in children’s later academic performance. For reading, the mean score was 10 points higher for those who attended preschool compared to those who did not. Similarly, the score difference for writing performance was found to be 12.4 points, and 9.8 points for mathematics performance.
A child’s ECE experience increases or decreases their likelihood of having to repeat grades in later years. Children who received ECE are less likely to repeat grades than those who did not. In the Philippines, a relatively higher proportion of children with no ECE attendance (44 per cent) have repeated grades, compared to those with one year of ECE experience (30 per cent) and two years of ECE experience (31 per cent). The resultant effect of increased grade repetition may lead to system inefficiency and an inadequate use of the education budget.
** There is currently no standard and reliable data source on the number of 0-2 year old children enrolled in early learning programmes, and no data on children with disabilities for this age group as there is no formal assessment. The data set out in this report against this subdimension is limited to the public sector; private sector registers are reported directly to LGUs.
Quick notes
- ECE (2021): 72.4% of children participated in organized learning one year before primary education, a decrease from 83.7% in 2017.
- Gender in Kindergarten Enrollment (2020): Higher enrolment among girls (67.5%) compared to boys (64.7%).
- ECE and Socioeconomic Background: 93% of children from high socioeconomic backgrounds had at least one year of ECE, compared to 83% from low backgrounds.
- ECE in Private vs. Public Schools: 95% of Grade 5 students in private schools had ECE, versus 84% in public schools.
- ECE and Grade Repetition: Children without ECE are more likely to repeat grades; in the Philippines, 44% without ECE repeated grades compared to 30-31% with ECE.
Quick notes
Legislation & Policy Analysis
Republic Act 8980 also known as the ECCD (Early Childhood Care and Development) Act was signed into law on 05 December 2000. Although the act was largely cross-cutting in nature it did feature some key components pertaining to early childhood education.
One of its key aims was to ensure the smooth transition from care to education, which was allied with ensuring that young children “are adequately prepared for the formal learning system.” In its entirety the act aims to provide a comprehensive policy and system for early childhood care and development across the Philippines. Under the act, the monitoring of early childhood education standards and safeguarding as well as the provision of technical assistance falls under the remit of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
At the local level, Republic Act 6972 also known as the Barangay-level Total Development and Protection of Children Act was enacted in 1990. This mandated the establishment of a day care centre in every barangay across the Philippines.
In 2013, Republic Act 10410, also known as the Early Years Act, was signed into law. The act mandates the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council “as the primary agency supporting the government’s programs that covers health, nutrition, early education and social services for children aged 0-4 years.” The vision of the ECCD Council, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is that by 2030 a comprehensive, integrated and sustainable system for early childhood care and development is in place across the country.
Despite the enactment of the Republic Act 10410 many still view the provision of services for early childhood education as unevenly distributed across the country. Therefore, there is currently a bill being put forward in the Senate called Senate Bill 2029. This bill “aims to give children aged 0 to 4 years old a headstart by teaching them basic skills for when they enter formal schooling.” The proposed bill also aims to address existing gaps in the Early Years Act by compelling LGUs to either establish child development centres or convert existing daycare centres into child development centres.
Bottleneck Analysis
- Perceptions that children under five are too young for education. Despite the existence of numerous programmes highlighting the importance of ECE and ECCD, parents still overwhelmingly hold the view that children under 5 years of age are too young to be in education.
According to the 2019 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) 98 per cent of parents believed that children aged 4-5 were too young to go to school. This suggests that there may be a need for awareness-raising and education campaigns for parents may be required to inform them of the importance of ECE and ECCD.
The challenge is particularly acute in rural and poorer areas, compounded by a challenge that some LGUs are not implementing ECE structures and strategies effectively. This creates knock-on impacts for older children, who can be required to stay at home to look after younger siblings rather than go to school themselves.
- Poverty is a key reason for many children not being able to pursue ECE. Parents and caregivers can often not afford school fees, including at ECE levels.
- Non-attendance in ECE can affect older girls. Where younger siblings are not enrolled in ECE, this is a bottleneck for old siblings’ access to education, as older siblings, particularly girls, are often tasked with taking care of younger children. This demonstrates the interconnectivity of access to education across age groups.
- Disparity in access to ECE is prominent, putting students from families of low-socioeconomic backgrounds and public schools at a disadvantage. According to a 2019 report, 93 per cent of students from the wealthiest families had at least one year of ECE, while the figure falls to 83 per cent for those from the lowest income bracket.
This indicates that poverty is a key bottleneck to ECE attendance. This is also supported by the fact that daycare centers are spread equally across the country.
Lack of provision of daycare centers in poor municipalities could be a key bottleneck.
- The early childhood development profession is not yet fully professionalized. The ECE profession is reportedly not yet fully professionalized, with quality standards implemented consistently across the different modalities and providers of ECE. This creates some level of disparity in the quality of ECE provided. A key professionalization drive of ECD is under way because of the Highlight Transforming Education Summit to which the Philippines is committed.
- Limited capacity of CDWs to support children with disabilities. CDWs often have limited capacities, training and resources to provide inclusive education for those with disabilities. This is a key bottleneck for these children, affecting their early years education with the potential to affect educational attainment and engagement in later years too.
- Pupils who do not speak English or Tagalog face educational barriers. This is a bottleneck particularly affecting indigenous peoples who may not speak these two languages, which are the typical languages of instruction in Filipino schools.
Limited access to ECE in the Philippines, potentially impacted by COVID-19. Fewer than 70 per cent of 5-year-old children were enrolled in kindergarten in 2020. This number is likely to have been further reduced because of the pandemic. This suggests that not enough is being done at a systems level to encourage participation in ECE.
Related Publications
Share Your Insights!
Your feedback is crucial in enhancing the accuracy and effectiveness of our content. All feedback will be validated and evaluated by our content team and is subject to approval.