World Bank approves $600 million for Philippines basic education learning reform

The World Bank has approved $600 million for the Philippines' Project for Learning Upgrade Support and Decentralization to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for 21 million K-10 students. The programme targets learning poverty, where 91% of 10-year-olds cannot read age-appropriate texts, through teacher training, materials, and decentralised school grants.

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved $600 million for the Project for Learning Upgrade Support and Decentralization (PLUS-D) in the Philippines, according to an official announcement. The project, implemented through the Department of Education (DepEd), aims to improve foundational literacy, numeracy, and mathematics outcomes for students in public primary and lower secondary schools nationwide, benefiting 21 million learners and approximately 777,000 teachers.

PLUS-D addresses a severe learning crisis in Philippine basic education, where 91 percent of 10-year-olds cannot read and understand an age-appropriate text, a phenomenon known as learning poverty, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Contributing factors include limited teacher capacity, suboptimal school leadership, insufficient infrastructure, and inadequate learning materials.

The project supports DepEd's learning acceleration and recovery program through evidence-based teacher training and coaching, enhanced learning assessments, inclusive teaching materials for learners with disabilities and Indigenous Peoples, and digitalisation initiatives. It will finance grants for 10 selected DepEd regional offices and over 11,100 schools under decentralised arrangements aligned with DepEd's 5-Point Reform agenda.

This development matters for the Philippines' human capital development, as foundational literacy and numeracy skills are critical for workforce competitiveness and job creation. The project aims to reduce learning poverty nationwide by equipping teachers with evidence-based support and promoting school autonomy and accountability.

For the education technology and publishing sectors, the project creates opportunities for learning materials development and digital platforms. Stakeholders including teachers, school leaders, and local governments stand to benefit from capacity-building activities and decentralised funding mechanisms.