The Philippines spends significantly less on education per student compared to the global average, as revealed by the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The average expenditure in the Philippines is $11,030 per student over 10 years (from age 6 to 15), which is nine times lower than the $102,612 average of other participating countries. The PISA, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), evaluates the academic performance of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science, and also considers factors like resource investment and learning environment.
The study found that higher education expenditure was generally associated with better PISA mathematics test scores, although it emphasized that spending influences performance only to a certain extent. Despite the Department of Education receiving the largest portion of the national budget, funds are still limited, and allocation towards learning recovery is a challenge. Filipino students scored among the lowest in PISA’s three subjects compared to their counterparts in 80 other countries, with no statistically significant improvement in average scores in mathematics and reading since 2018.
To address the education sector’s needs, the Department of Education requires about P10 billion for its program in nearly 40,000 public schools, but only P2.9 billion has been allocated in the next year’s budget. The teacher-student ratio in the Philippines has worsened, increasing from 1:26 in 2018 to 1:30 in 2022, compared to the OECD average of one teacher for every 12 students. The PISA study also noted that education systems with lower student-teacher ratios and smaller class sizes generally showed higher math scores.
Education policy expert Karol Mark Yee highlighted that the country’s education budget has increased over the years, from P7,876 per student in 2009 to P20,834 in 2020. However, as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), education spending was still below the recommended 4 to 6 percent. Additionally, special education funds under local governments have been historically underutilized, with a budget of P14.8 billion remaining unused in 2022.