EDCOM 2: 10 years needed for reforms in PH education

A 10-year reform is needed to address the country’s education crisis, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) said Sunday.

“Kailangan po sa lalim na problema inipon natin ng halos tatlong dekada, we need at least 10 years. It is a decade of necessary reform,” EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee told Super Radyo dzBB.

(Given three decades’ worth of problems, we need at least 10 years — a decade of necessary reform.)

Yee made the statement as EDCOM 2 prepares to submit its third and final report on Monday, Jan. 19, which also contains a national education plan.

He said that within two years, the recommendations of EDCOM 2 will begin to be implemented by the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

These recommendations include how many additional teachers and classrooms are needed each year.

“Para sa bawat taon na nagkulang, alam natin kung ano ang balanse, alam natin kung kailan kailangan dagdagan pa ang pondo,” Yee said.

(This allows us to determine, for each year, how many teachers and classrooms are needed in order to calculate the required budget.)

“For the next two years, sisisiguraduhin ng EDCOM na hindi nagkulang sa implementation,” he added.

(For the next two years, EDCOM will ensure that implementation is not lacking.)

In September 2025, EDCOM 2 reported that a shortage of 165,000 classrooms nationwide is forcing kindergarteners to attend school as early as dawn or stay home.

Yee also pointed out that repeated class suspensions due to holidays, bad weather, or extreme heat disrupt students’ education, contributing to the country’s literacy crisis.

“Nakita last year, sa isang taon halos isang buong quarter ubos. Talagang walang natitira,” Yee said.

(Last year, we found that students lost almost an entire quarter of learning time due to suspensions.)

“Dahil sa rami ng suspension nangyayari sa loob ng isang year, nakikita natin 30 to 50 days talagang suspended ang klase sa isang taon,” he added.

(Due to the number of class suspensions in a year, we found that 30 to 50 school days are lost.)

In December 2025, EDCOM 2 reported that the country is facing a severe foundational learning crisis, with 85 percent of Grade 1 to 3 pupils struggling to read.—MCG, GMA Integrated News