Metro Manila, Philippines— The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines on Tuesday said there is still much work to do to strengthen early childhood education in the country.
UNICEF Philippines’ deputy representative Behzad Noubary said only 28% of Filipino learners aged three and four attend preschool, and about 78% for kindergarten.
“If we could increase that, we can see immediate improvements in terms of the success of students in primary learning,” he told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.
Citing a UNICEF study, Noubary said preschool education gives Filipino students a better chance of success once they get to primary school.
He added that preschool education may also help address the country’s learning crisis.
“There are some LGUs (local government units) where daycare centers are not available. This is something that perhaps could use some standardization across the country,” he said.
The deputy representative also pointed out that child development workers in the Philippines are not well-compensated.
“Studies that have been done showed that their pay is quite low, on average less than ₱10,000 per month, and that they have different levels of qualification,” he said.
