EDCOM II submits 10-year education reform plan to PBBM

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) has submitted a 10-year education reform plan to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., aimed at addressing the country’s long-standing education problems.

EDCOM II was convened to undertake a comprehensive review of the Philippine education system. Its Final Report presented a stark finding of a severe “proficiency collapse” that worsens as learners move through basic education.

National Achievement Test data cited in the report showed that while around 30 percent of learners demonstrate proficiency by Grade 3, this drops sharply to 1.36 percent by Grade 10 and further to just 0.47 percent by Grade 12. The findings indicate that early learning gaps, when left unaddressed, compound over time and undermine secondary-level outcomes.

In response, the National Education and Workforce Development Plan (NatPlan) lays out a focused reform agenda aimed at restoring foundational learning and preventing learning losses from cascading through the system.

Priority measures include strengthening early childhood education, expanding learner nutrition programs, accelerating classroom decongestion, reducing non-teaching administrative workloads for teachers, and ending mass promotion practices that mask actual learning gaps.

“These figures are difficult, but they are necessary,” Tingog Partylist Rep. Jude Acidre said. “We cannot fix what we refuse to measure. EDCOM II’s work was grounded in evidence, not comfort, and the NatPlan reflects a serious commitment to rebuilding learning from the ground up.”

To track progress, the NatPlan sets clear, time-bound targets to restore proficiency across key stages of education, with phased benchmarks for 2028, 2031, and 2035. These targets are anchored on systemic reforms designed to ensure that assessment results reflect genuine learning mastery rather than procedural compliance.

The roadmap is backed by record public investment. For fiscal year 2026, Congress allocated ₱1.37 trillion for education—the highest in Philippine history and the first time the country has met the United Nations benchmark of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product for education spending.

“What the Final Report shows is something teachers and families have long known—that too many students are struggling, and too many educators are carrying that burden every day,” Acidre said. “The NatPlan is our response: turning evidence into policy, policy into sustained action, and, over time, improving learning in our classrooms so that no Filipino learner is left behind.”

EDCOM II formally submitted its Final Report, titled “Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reform,” along with the NatPlan 2026–2035, to President Marcos at Malacañang Palace, marking the start of a decade-long, system-wide effort to overhaul Philippine education.

Conducted pursuant to Republic Act No. 11899, the initiative signals a shift from diagnosis to sustained reform. Built on three years of nationwide, evidence-based evaluation, the NatPlan is designed to guide education policy, priority legislation, and budgetary investments across administrations.

President Marcos received the Final Report and NatPlan alongside key Cabinet members, including Education Secretary Sonny Angara, Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Shirley Agrupis, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Kiko Benitez, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Department of Budget and Management Acting Secretary Rolando Toledo.

Also present during the turnover were Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III. EDCOM II co-chairpersons Sen. Bam Aquino and Sen. Loren Legarda, as well as House co-chairpersons Rep. Jude Acidre and Rep. Roman Romulo, attended the ceremony, along with commissioners Rep. Zia Adiong, Rep. Steve Solon, and Rep. Anna Victoria Veloso-Tuazon.