Boys Are Still Left Behind in Basic Education

This Policy Note examines the extent of gender disparities in various education performance metrics, particularly the rate of out-of-school children (OOSC). It reveals that 2 in every 3 OOSC in the Philippines aged 5-15 years in 2017 were boys. Moreover, boys had lower likelihood of attending school compared to girls regardless of age range, except among kindergarten-age children. This study also finds that the lack of interest was their most commonly cited reason for leaving school, followed by high cost of education.

Despite evidence about the difference in opportunity costs for schooling for boys and girls, especially at older ages, it discovers that no change was made to the current grants given under the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. As such, it recommends that the Department of Education (DepED) work with the Department of Social Welfare and Development to study the possibility of increasing CCT allowances for boys, especially at a later age. It also urges DepED to diversify the teacher workforce to achieve balance between women and men teachers, which can also have long-term impacts on boys.