Philippines

CRC Concluding Observations
E/C.12/PHL/CO/5-6
paras. 55–56
7 October 2016

55. While welcoming the important step achieved by the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, the Committee is concerned that:

(a) The insufficient level of resources dedicated by the State party to financing school facilities and qualified teachers, and to ensuring the effective enjoyment of the right to free primary and secondary education for all;
(b) The proliferation of so-called “low-cost private schools” at the primary and secondary level owing to inadequacies in the public school system, which have being expanded to the senior- high school level through the Senior-High School Voucher Programme;
(c) The low-quality of education provided by these private schools, the top-up fees to cover the full cost of private education imposed on parents, and the lack of regulation by State authorities of these schools, which have led to the segregation or discriminatory access to education, particularly for disadvantaged and marginalized children, including children living in rural areas;

[…]

56. Recalling that the State has the primary responsibility in ensuring the right to education, the Committee recommends that the State party take all the measures necessary to:

(a) Strengthen its public education sector, through including increasing the budget allocated to primary and secondary education, with a view to improving access to and the quality of primary and secondary education for all, without hidden costs, particularly for children of low income families and children living in the rural areas;
(b) Ensure that all schools, including the low-cost private schools, are registered and monitor their compliance with the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 and the relevant guidelines;
(c) Review the Education Service Contracting scheme to address its adverse impacts on the right to education of disadvantaged and marginalized children and their parents;