Schools can produce the best-performing learners even with limited resources if supported by local officials and community members, a UNICEF study suggested.

The study, titled Local Financing and Learning Outcomes in the Philippines: A Special Education Fund (SEF) Study, was commissioned by UNICEF and the Department of Education (DepEd) to investigate the effect of education resources that are within the direct influence of policy and decision-makers in the short to medium term.

Focused on financing for primary and secondary public school maintenance and operations, the study is one of many commissioned by UNICEF to contribute to the body of work on children’s rights in the Philippines.

It covered 173 divisions in 16 regions and 77 provinces across the country, revealing that school maintenance and other operating expenses (School MOOE) and the municipality’s Special Education Fund (SEF) make up most of the school resources.

However, the current relationship between these two funds leaves room for better complementarity and effectiveness.

Gapan setting the standard

UNICEF cited Gapan East Integrated School, a Nueva Ecija-based school with low MOOE and SEF, yet it emerged as one of the top five among school divisions in the National Achievement Test for Grade 6.

"One reason for this is good planning and implementation by the school, and another reason is the strong support of the Local Government Unit (LGU) for education," UNICEF explained.

The United Nations agency recommended increasing both the school MOOE and SEF allocations to schools and strengthening collaboration through the Local School Boards.

"Also, if these increases are linked with each other, it is better to connect the increase of school MOOE to factors that also drive low SEF, like property values and tax effort, rather than to low SEF directly," UNICEF noted.

"In addition, any changes in the SEF and MOOE policy should consider the specific situation of the local government that affects the spending of both funds," it added.

UNICEF’s education team had the opportunity to present its findings during a joint field visit in Gapan City with Education Secretary Sonny Angara and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, co-chair of EDCOM2 and Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

Budgets for school improvement

UNICEF chief of education Akihiro Fushimi said they have observed that increasing MOOE will allow SEF to be more effective.

"SEF is currently seen as an augmentation to existing school budgets during the school improvement plan cycle," Fushimi explained.

"However, freeing up the more flexible SEF funds from basic expenses can potentially produce better learning outcomes because then SEF can be used for highly effective teaching and learning activities,” he added.

Among the main challenges that LGUs face in effectively utilizing their SEF is the need to occasionally use SEF to cover even expenses that are supposed to be covered by school MOOE.

Targeted education interventions

Gapan Schools Division Superintendent Teresita Mababa said that while funding is low, they have learned to prioritize spending depending on the urgency of the school’s needs. Mostly, these include repairs and general infrastructure.

“Infrastructure and repairs are some of our top priorities because how can you teach when, for example, the roof is leaking, or children have to walk through floods inside the school?" Mababa said.

"Second, we try as much as possible to allocate funds for teachers’ training and development," she added.

Mababa explained that any additional funds — mostly from SEF and other donations — are used for targeted interventions and programs initiated by the Schools Division of Gapan City, aimed at enhancing learning outcomes.

Through a strategic approach that combines division-led initiatives with the school’s tailored projects, Gapan East Integrated School implemented a range of practices that prioritized learner engagement, skill development, and comprehensive academic support.

These combined efforts underscore the division's commitment to fostering educational excellence and holistic growth among its learners.

"If you look at the names of top-performing schools, it's usually the cities with large purses,” Department of Education Chief Sonny Angara said during the visit.

"Yet Gapan is doing above average and showing good results with a fairly average budget. That is an indicator of quality,” Angara added.

While increasing schools’ MOOE is the goal, Senator Gatchalian said schools like Gapan that focus on direct learning and student development are already seeing clear gains.

"We need to review how we compute the school MOOE. It needs to truly reflect the needs on the ground and a good spending strategy from the school leader,” the Senator added.