The Bangsamoro Parliament on Thursday disclosed findings validating major problems within the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education following the recent removal of former minister Mohagher Iqbal amid fraud findings flagged by the Commission on Audit.
The report, released by the Committee on Finance, Budget, and Management during deliberations on the 2026 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao budget, cited delayed fund utilization and poor implementation rates within MBHTE.
As of 31 August 2025, the ministry reportedly recorded only 75.21 percent allotment, 47.81 percent obligation, and 44.04 percent disbursement rates despite receiving P26.49 billion, the largest allocation in the proposed P114-billion BARMM budget.
The findings also painted a grim picture of the region’s education sector.
BARMM’s functional illiteracy rate reached 38.3 percent, significantly higher than the national average of 30.6 percent and the highest among all Philippine regions.
The report also noted poor performance among teachers in the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers, where BARMM ranked 34th out of 39 nationwide.
College dropout rates in the region reached 90 percent, far exceeding the national average of 35.39 percent, while only 18.7 percent of college-age residents were enrolled in higher education — the lowest participation rate in the country.
The committee further reported that 9,599 teaching positions remain vacant while 36,773 plantilla items from the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao remain unmigrated, including over 3,000 teachers and staff in Sulu facing administrative uncertainty.
Volunteer teachers continue to fill workforce shortages but reportedly receive low honoraria and lack formal recognition and institutional protection.
Infrastructure and supply shortages were likewise highlighted in the report.
Out of 2,289 classroom construction projects, only 1,330 have been completed, while many projects funded under national allocations remain stalled or still under procurement.
The report also said 277,817 learners still lack textbooks, 567,946 armchairs remain needed, and more than 757,000 students have yet to receive learner kits.
Lawmakers also raised concerns over the reported P5,049 unit cost of armchairs, citing the need for further justification and comparative analysis.
The committee likewise flagged P4.9 billion in cash-in-bank and P208 million in Bangsamoro Treasury System disbursement accounts from 2020 to 2023 that remain unimplemented.
