Unlearning: The Unequal State of Filipino Education by Maya Tuviera

“Encircle the toys for boys, and box the toys for girls,” recites a first-grade student in the Philippines from her government-issued module. She cocks her head and stares blankly at the paper: a kitchen set, a shiny bike, a miniature castle; how does she choose which toy is for boys, and which toy is for girls? She has held each of them in her hands and cherished them all the same. “Just answer it,” says her mother. “Don’t be a contrarian. If it’s colorful and pretty, it’s for girls. If it’s for rough play and adventuring, it’s for boys.” Her eyes are usually bright; she is wonder-filled and jubilant with the youthful belief that she can amount to anything. Today, her eyes are downcast. She is not the first, and she will most certainly not be the last. 

Education in the Philippines is hardly considered a right, and it is often an unsafe pursuit. The COVID-19 pandemic has made quality education completely inaccessible for public school students, as many of them have limited access to reliable internet connections and technology. Students were forced to rely on modules that required a certain degree of self-sufficiency instead of instruction from teachers. These modules often contained outdated information and erroneous material and had to be shared among multiple students. Apart from pandemic-related battles, schools in the Philippines regularly experience issues such as government shutdowns and vulnerability to natural disasters. All of the above have led to schooling being inaccessible and unstable for the youth. 

While it is commonplace for Filipinos to be unable to access decent educations, female students are at a disproportionate disadvantage. Filipinas are often beholden to familial expectations, from raising children to caring for their parents or in-laws in old age. Women are still expected to be homemakers, so their brothers are often prioritized in households that cannot afford to send multiple children to school. Additionally, deeply-ingrained religious stigmas have made thorough sexual education curriculums unavailable to a vast majority of students, least of all the poor. As a result, teenage pregnancy is rampant, with the issue being so detrimental to the health and futures of young girls that it has been declared a national priority (Executive Order 141). These cultural issues influence girls’ education, forcing unwilling women into the home instead of the workplace.

The biggest challenge facing women in the Philippines today is gender inequality in education. A combination of deeply-rooted cultural beliefs and nationwide poverty are the main contributors to the educational divide between male and female students. This divide is not in terms of the number of students enrolled, but in both the quality and value of their education and its ability to change their lives. If even the modules released by schools and issued by the Department of Education tell a girl that what she can be is limited to a stereotype, how can women in the Philippines amount to anything else? 

The country has the ability to provide women with quality educations. The Philippines leads Asia in gender equality, and more women than men are functionally literate and enrolled in all levels of schooling (Global Gender Report, 2021). The Philippines needs more educated and forward-thinking teachers who are paid livable and sustainable wages. We must protect and nurture Filipina students through measures such as the provision of free menstrual products and birth control. The Department of Education must be rigorous in ensuring that its modules are accurate and that all students receive comprehensive sexual education. Ultimately, a shift in the cultural perception towards women is necessary and will only be achieved when institutions teach girls what they deserve to learn. Only when women of all positions and classes can access schools and feel safe and secure within them will they be able to harness their own innate potential. 

Women become unstoppable when they know that they deserve better. Girls in the Philippines have an immense and unrealized potential to change our nation. In order to successfully show it to them, we must nurture their dreams and make schools a foundation to turn them into a reality. If we give women the room to learn, we assure the Filipina that she will be guaranteed the right to dream. That she may command the attention of a roomful of eager schoolgirls, that she may tell her story and stand alongside women in unlearning ages of oppression. That she may learn, in a safe and accessible classroom, how powerful she is and all that she can be.