DepEd urges LGUs, barangays to build more daycare centers

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday 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.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said pre-kindergarten education is not under DepEd's mandate, but stressed that it plays a critical role in a child's development.

"Kulang na kulang tayo (We really don't have enough)," he said on the sidelines of the Rise Against Hunger Program at Quirino Elementary School in Quezon City.

"We need to catch children at ages 0 to 5 because once they enter kindergarten, much of the damage has already been done. The problem is that only 29% of our children aged 3 to 4 are enrolled in daycare centers. LGUs, municipalities, and barangays should build more daycare centers," he added.

According to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), only 20% of children aged 3 to 4 were enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs in 2022.

The think tank also said around 23% of children benefited from school feeding programs.

PIDS likewise estimated that the country faces a shortage of about 33,000 daycare centers, with only around 33,000 existing facilities compared with the estimated 96,000 needed. It also said the number of child development workers is only about one-third of what is required.

On Wednesday, DepEd, together with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council, signed the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Early Childhood Care and Development System Act, more than a year after the law was enacted.

Angara also responded to an earlier statement by the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), which described the pace of education reforms in the Philippines as "dangerously inadequate" to reverse the country's decades-long learning crisis.

"What's important is that it's moving. If we can expedite it, we will. But I think, on the part of DepEd, we're doing what we can. We will see if there is anything more that we can do," he said.

The education chief pointed to DepEd's efforts to strengthen the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, expand the school-based feeding program, and accelerate school infrastructure projects.

"The school building program is the largest we've seen in many years. We're also taking care of our teachers through promotions. So I think it's kind of working," Angara said. — MCG, GMA News