Image Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/rich-access-quality-education-poor-suffer-filipino-schools-close/

Currently, one-fourth or approximately 28.4 million people in the Philippines live in or below the poverty line. Most children, especially in rural areas in the nation across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the country's three main regions, do not have access to a proper education. They do not have access to basic educational materials such as books, writing materials, and even in extreme cases, a lack of teaching staff. This could have long-term effects on the country such as rising poverty rates, hindered economic development, and most importantly, millions of children with no future to look forward to. While the current situation in the Philippines does not seem as hopeful as most would imagine, there is still hope, and it starts with children learning new things, exploring different perspectives, and later on, someday, making a difference.

Children in the Philippines need a safe and proper space to learn. While there have been some efforts to reach rural areas in the country through volunteer reach-out programs, donation drives, and the work of private, non-profit, organizations who seek to make a change. Everyone in the country knows there is a problem, but no one chooses to do anything about it. The traditional solutions such as budget allocation, more classrooms in regions, and so on are slow, flawed, and a temporary solution. It is clearly not enough to develop the education sector.

The Philippine government must construct permanent facilities that are functional, up-to-date, and can be monitored in case of any problems that may arise later on. If the construction of learning facilities run by the Philippine government, specifically the Department of Education, is acted upon, there would be more accurate data retrieval in terms of the literacy and the quality of educational facilities and resources. With the recent arrival of Starlink, a satellite internet company established by Elon Musk, in the Philippines, this will make an easier flow of communication and a farther reach of technological services, no matter how far the location may be.

This solution may not fix the problem immediately, but it is a big step in:

• Informing the general public of the situation since rural areas are not given enough attention in the media.
• Using more recent and accurate statistics to know which specific regions need more resources.
• Uncovers the inequal budget distribution not just among urban and rural areas, but the education sector of the nation altogether.

"Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself, and always be happy to serve." - Efren Peñaflorida Jr.