Quality, Access and Relevance in Basic Education

The first Philippine Report on Human Development and Governance proved to be a powerful advocacy tool leading to a presidential directive that required local governments to devote at least 20 percent of internal revenue to human development priorities. The 2000 Report explores the poor quality of education in the country evident from the low scores obtained by Filipino students in standardized tests. The Report finds that inadequate budget and a dearth of competent teachers were causes for the quality deficit. This conclusion had a serious policy impact, spurring major debates on educational policy reform in the country’s Senate and Executive Cabinet.