SENATOR Sherwin T. Gatchalian has filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the quality of education in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) amid low enrollment rates.
“It is important that we assess the challenges facing our countrymen in BARMM when it comes to education,” he said in a statement in Filipino on Monday. “We want to make sure that when it comes to quality education and opportunities for a bright future, our countrymen in the region will not be left behind.”
Senate Resolution 455 seeks to review the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro and Bangsamoro Education Code of 2021.
Mr. Gatchalian said low enrollment rates have been a persistent issue in the region, with only about 36% of minors aged 12 to 15 enrolled in junior high school and 10% of minors aged 16 to 17 enrolled in senior high school.
Nonattendance in schools was mostly due to the high cost of education, accessibility problems and lack of personal interest, he said, citing a government survey in 2020.
“Several decades of armed conflict and civil unrest have greatly affected the quality of basic education, which is evident in the performance of Bangsamoro in several education indicators,” Mr. Gatchalian said.
The senator noted that in the past seven national achievement tests in the region, students had subpar performance in English, Science and Mathematics.
Only 17 of 100 children enrolled from Grade 1 graduated from senior high school in 2022, substantially lower than the national average of 57 senior high graduates, he added. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
