WB FLAGS BAD PHL SERVICES FOR KIDS’ EDUCATION, HEALTH

THE poor quality of education and health services received by Filipino children today will prevent them from achieving their full potential as adults, according to a report released by the World Bank.

In the Human Capital Index (HCI), the World Bank said the Philippines’s HCI score was only 0.52, lower than its HCI score of 0.55 in 2018. This means that children born in the country today will still fail to achieve almost half their potential.

The HCI ranges from 0 to 1. An economy where a child born today can expect to achieve complete education and full health will score a value of 1 on the index.

In its report, the World Bank said with some alarm that the Covid-19 pandemic is already threatening whatever gains were achieved by countries, including the Philippines.

Of the Philippine case, the report stated: “The importance that governments in the 1970s accorded to mass education in the country jumpstarted an expansion in school enrollment, with primary gross enrollment rates at about 100 percent and rates nearing 90 percent at the secondary level in 2017.”

The report added: “However, while access has increased, quality remains an issue, with 15-yearold Philippine students scoring lower than students in nearly all other participating countries in the latest round of PISA [Program for International Student Assessment] in 2018.”

Data showed that in the PISA 2018 examinations, about four-fifths of Filipino students or 81 percent recorded a below-minimum level in reading proficiency.

A similarly high percentage of students performed below the minimum level of proficiency in mathematics.

The World Bank said that while several administrations have implemented programs that build the human capital of the population, these did not succeed.

Financing gap

ONE reason cited was inadequate financing for these programs to ensure effective implementation.

The World Bank estimated that the Philippines spends 4.4 percent of its GDP on its health programs and 3.5 percent on education programs.

These are lower than the average of 6.5 percent for health and 4.5 percent for education programs in countries at the same income level as the Philippines.

This has led to understaffed and overcrowded clinics and schools; underpaid medical and educational personnel; inadequate infrastructure; and lack of technical facilities in local education and health facilities.

The World Bank noted that the lack of funds also failed to improve governance in the education and health sectors.

“Widespread fraud in the distribution of textbooks, theft of funds or supplies, and ghost workers [workers who are paid but do not carry out their jobs] in municipal health facilities are all reflected in the country’s outcomes,” the report stated.

The World Bank said the Philippines, with a population of 104.9 million, is the eighth most populous country in Asia and the most populous country included in its analysis. The country has a per capita GDP at 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of $8,123.

PPPS are used to convert and compare the size and price levels of economies around the world. PPPS make it possible to compare GDPS of economies in real terms by removing the price level differences between them.

The World Bank said efforts to boost human capital development in the country continue through programs such as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program or the Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The 4Ps provide cash to chronically poor households with children aged between 0 and 14 years old who live in poor areas.

The cash transfers are extended to ensure that beneficiary households send their children to health centers and schools. The CCTS also ensure that pregnant women go on prenatal checkups.

“Impact evaluation studies show that the program is resulting in improved education and health outcomes among beneficiaries, including enhanced food security, community participation, and women’s empowerment,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, compared to its Asean-5 peers, the Philippines is the laggard in terms of HCI. Singapore is the leader in the regional bloc with an HCI of 0.88 and a far second is Vietnam with an HCI score of 0.69.

These countries are followed by Malaysia and Thailand, which both registered an HCI score of 0.61, and Indonesia, which has an HCI score of 0.54.

Pandemic’s toll

“THE pandemic puts at risk the decade’s progress in building human capital, including the improvements in health, survival rates, school enrollment and reduced stunting. The economic impact of the pandemic has been particularly deep for women and for the most disadvantaged families, leaving many vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “Protecting and investing in people is vital as countries work to lay the foundation for sustainable, inclusive recoveries and future growth.”

Due to the pandemic’s impact, the World Bank said over 1 billion have been out of school and could lose out, on average, half a year of schooling, adjusted for learning, translating into considerable monetary losses.

The Washington-based lender also noted disruptions to essential health services for women and children, with many children missing out on crucial vaccinations.

The 2020 Human Capital Index also includes health and education data for 174 countries—covering 98 percent of the world’s population—up to March 2020, providing a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children.

The analysis showed that prepandemic, most countries had made steady progress in building human capital of children, with the biggest strides made in low- income countries.

However, even before the effects of the pandemic, a child born in a typical country could expect to achieve just 56 percent of their potential human capital, relative to a benchmark of complete education and full health.

“Today, hard-won human capital gains in many countries are at risk. But countries can do more than just work to recover the lost progress. To protect and extend earlier human capital gains, countries need to expand health service coverage and quality among marginalized communities, boost learning outcomes together with school enrollments, and support vulnerable families with social protection measures adapted to the scale of the Covid-19 crisis,” the World Bank said in a statement.

The Bank said there is a need to put in place ambitious, evidencedriven policy measures in health, education and social protection to recover lost ground.

This will also pave the way for today’s children to surpass the human capital achievements and quality of life of the generations that preceded them.

The World Bank said fully realizing the creative promise embodied in each child has never been more important.

‘Protecting and investing in people is vital as countries work to lay the foundation for sustainable, inclusive recoveries and future growth.” —World Bank