Notre Dame University

College of Business and Accountancy

1st semester of S.Y 2017

ILLITERACY IN THE PHILIPPINES:

CAUSES, EFFECTS AND SOLUTIONS

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course English 215

Submitted By

ABAS, Hamida M.
ANDAL, Ahlia Nesreen G.
BULOSAN, Mitch Krizia C.
GUILING, Aliyah G.
IBA, Sittie Azisha Shaina A.
MAMA, Norhannan J.
TOMAWIS, Hazel Ommayah B.

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 ABSTRACT

This paper aims to give information about the illiteracy in the Philippines. The researcher

tries to give attention to the illiterate persons in the Philippines. The researchers try to prove if

being illiterate could be a source of other bigger problems of the Philippines. This paper is only a

combination of researched facts of each researcher.

The researchers came up with presenting the following: First, the paper will discuss the

definition and difference of literacy and illiteracy. It will also present the current literacy rate in

the Philippines. Also, the paper will discuss the probable causes and the effects or consequences

of illiteracy in the Philippines. The paper will also give solutions to reduce illiteracy in the

Philippines.

After the related researches and data have been gathered, the researchers will come up

with a conclusion from the facts and information conglomerated. Thus, recommendations will be

suggested after the thorough interpretation of data.

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 Table of Contents

ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................................. 2
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 4
BODY ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 11
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION .......................................................................................... 16
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................... 17

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 INTRODUCTION

As a child, we were thought by our parents simple things in life we need to bear in mind.

It is them who helped us learn how to communicate. It is through them where we first learned

our first language. Time passed and we are now in school; we developed our skills in

communicating and learned the dynamics in basic communication. We learned that we can

communicate orally and in written. We’ve grown and matured with the help of communication.

It helps us speak what we feel: anger, sadness, happiness we’ve learned to develop overtime. It

helps us tell our story and say what we want say. It helps us show what actions can’t

comprehend. It helps us be a better person. Through communication, we can be better

individuals for our country and ourselves.

“It is through literacy that one is empowered to interact in his community and realizes his

worth, what he can do and eventually make him do things that contribute in sustainable

development of his society,” said Department of Education’s (DepEd) Literacy Coordinating

Council OIC Dina Ocampo in speech during the 2014 National Literacy Conference and Awards.

Literacy helps us be a better individual. It pushes us through our limits so that we can contribute

well to the betterment of our society. Literacy is important in many countries. It is a right we

must sustain to produce a more efficient and effective country.

Literacy is also the foundation of education; education, which helps us, develops ourselves to

be more productive and competitive individually or wholly. Without literacy, it would be

difficult to learn and communicate with others. One who is illiterate can’t compete with other

individuals; the same thing on how Philippines can’t compete with other countries. Those who

are illiterate or uneducated in the country can affect the Philippines as a whole. It affects the

productivity of our country. Based on the National Statistics Office’s 2010 census, 97.5 % of

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71.5 million individuals who are 10 years old and older were literate or could read and write.

There are those who are illiterate and they influence the overall outcome of the country. It is,

therefore, a need to study why there are illiterates and how we can cope with this.

The primary objective of this research is to identify what are the causes of illiteracy in the

Philippines, to know how illiteracy affects the Philippines, and to find probable solutions to

reduce illiteracy in the Philippines. Furthermore, this research will discuss the definition of

literacy, difference between literacy and illiteracy, an overview of literacy in the Philippines,

causes and effects of illiteracy in the Philippines, and solutions to reduce illiteracy in the

Philippines.

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 BODY

Literacy has traditionally been thought of as reading and writing. Although these are

essential components of literacy, today our understanding of literacy encompasses much more.

Before the Spaniards colonized Philippines, native have developed our own Alphabet called

Baybayin. Eventually, the Spaniards came and people were treated as lowlife indolent ignorant.

Teaching was more for religious teaching. Then the Americans came. They established schools

for Filipinos. They thought Filipinos how to read, write and speak English. Filipino were

educated to serve the US agenda but still, Filipinos became literate. Japan Colonization went by

and not much happened in literacy. In present time, literacy seems to worsen even more. What

seems to be the reason behind the worsening situation?

Alberta Education defines literacy as the ability, confidence and willingness to engage with

language to acquire, construct and communicate meaning in all aspects of daily living. Language

is explained as a socially and culturally constructed system of communication. (Alberta

Education, 2015)

According to the article written by Victor (2016) at ImportantIndia.com, illiteracy is a state

whereby one is unable to read and write. In its simplest form, it can be defined as lack of any or

sufficient education. Illiteracy can also mean ignorance or the lack of knowledge in a specific

subject. For example, a person may have gone to school but does not know how to operate a

computer. Such an individual has no literacy in computer and is known as computer illiterate.

Nearly every job advertised requires one to have computer literacy due to the digitization of most

processes at the workplace.

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 Now, why is illiteracy a problem? According to the website thegreatmind.weebly.com,

illiteracy is a problem because it inhibits people from communicating efficiently with one

another. When illiteracy is widespread throughout a society, people will have a hard time

understanding other people's thoughts and conveyed messages.

Chart 1. Literacy Rate in the Philippines by Year (1995 – 2008)

Above is a chart showing the Literacy Rate in the Philippines from 1995 to 2008. All

over the world, we are 95th on the rank of literacy rate with 95.4% Literacy Rate. The National

Statistics Office’s 2010 census, 97.5 % of 71.5 million individuals who are 10 years old and

older were literate or could read and write. “Why is it that despite our supposedly high literacy

rate, many Filipinos can barely read and write? Why haven’t we been able to develop a reading

habit among Filipinos?” said by Juan Miguel Luz on the website pcij.org.

What seems to be the problem behind having a large number of Filipinos who are still

illiterate? There are a lot of causes behind the inability to read, write and communicate properly.

An article of Saranya Nayak entitled “Top 10 Common Causes of Illiteracy” stated some causes

of Illiteracy that are evident to the Philippines, like:

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 1. Poverty

2. Population Explosion

3. Inadequate Facilities

4. Attitude towards Learning

According to the page called “Social Issues of Education in the Philippines” (n.d),

Illiteracy in the Philippines not only affects the individual, but it has major consequences on

economy, social and political for Philippine society. First, illiteracy has a major effect on the

development of the country. Illiterate people cannot be part of this development and progress.

They do not have the basic education and the proper simple skills for them to get employed. Due

to this lack of skills they are forced to work in jobs that do not require lots of skills even reading

and writing. This may result in making them end up in poverty. In addition, because illiterate

people lack education they can be a huge burden on the country. Second, illiteracy has an effect

on the people in the society. It mostly affects the life of illiterate parents, where they cannot get

good jobs to support their families. So this will in turn affect their lifestyle and their needs. In

addition, illiterate parents affect their children. If the parents were not properly educated, this can

be passed to their next generation. In other words, children get many of their views and ideas

from their parents, so if a parent does not feel that education is an important factor of success;

these feelings will be carried over to their children. Illiterate people also affect people around

them. It is hard for literate people to get involved with the illiterate. They will just slow their

progress down and not benefit from them. That is to say, the more illiterate people there are in a

country, the harder it will be for the country to develop.

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 Being literate plays a big part in our lives. True enough that literacy is the path from

slavery to freedom. Now, could there be a possible solution to end illiteracy or to at least control

it? On the page ImportantIndia, Victor stated seven (7) possible ways to end illiteracy.

1. Free education: The provision of free education in schools, colleges, and universities by

the government can play a major role in reducing the level of illiteracy in a country by

getting more people to school. Since some people fail to attend school due to lack of

money to pay for the fees, offering free education can increase the number of people

attending school and subsequently reduce illiteracy levels within a society.

2. Awareness: Creating awareness about the importance of education can help people

understand why they need to go to school. Non-governmental organizations, government

agencies, and other concerned parties should put in place deliberate measures to create

awareness in the society and reduce the number of people who are unable to read and

write.

3. Grants: Offering grants, subsidies, and scholarships can reduce the financial burden that

parents and students bear in paying for education. It would make it possible for students to

learn without interrupting their education due to lack of school fees. Parents would also

channel the money that would have been used to pay for school fees towards other income

generating projects. The cost of financing education can prove to be too high especially for

those who live in poverty.

4. Late night classes: Working people can opt for late night classes. In this way, they can

learn even as they earn income through their daytime jobs.

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5. Free books: The government and different foundations can offer free books in schools to

encourage students to develop a reading culture. Offering free books can also reduce the

financial burden placed on parents in the provision of textbooks.

6. Digitization: Since we live in the age of technology and information, creating digital

platforms for reading and learning can help reduce illiteracy in the society. It can also help

take care of the challenge of shortage of education facilities. Digital libraries can provide a

good platform for those who live far away from urban centers to expand their knowledge

base and become more informed.

7. Lower educational cost: Even though education has its rewards, it is very costly to

finance. Many graduates usually leave school with huge debts in the form of student loans.

It makes saving and investing difficult. The cost of university education has been a key

political and social issue in many nations. By lowering the cost of education, the

government can make it easier for people to study up to the highest level possible.

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 SUMMARY

Causes of Illiteracy in the Philippines

There are a lot of causes behind the inability to read, write and communicate properly. To

understand this social issue, we need to understand what the root causes of illiteracy are. The

following are some causes of illiteracy that is evident in the Philippines:

1. Poverty

Poverty is linked to Illiteracy. In the findings of Functional Literacy, Education and Mass

Media Survey (FLEMMS), 19.2 percent resulted to insufficient family income to send child to

school as one of the top reason for not attending school. Poverty pushes a child to dismiss school

at an early age to focus on earning for their family at the lowest level of work force and thus,

they remain in poverty. This child and its seed for several generations will then give rise to the

population of illiterates of the country.

Moreover, countries with lowest level of literacy are also the poorest economically as

mentioned by Adiseshiah Malcolm in his journal. Since our country, the Philippines is a

developing country, population of people below the poverty line is rampant and it influences the

future of our nation.

Also, according to Maslow’s theory on hierarchy of needs, people are deprived of basic

needs, such as shelter, food, clothes, and basic safety, are less likely to develop themselves with

higher education. (University of Tennessee Website) Education has become an important factor

in the economy of the country yet poverty limits people to education. Education uplifts us and

develops us to be a better version of ourselves. How can we compete globally if we don’t have

an unstable economy? Unstable economy affects the ability of a population to become literate.

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This would also mean same problems to be encountered of children from different generations

being illiterate for several generations and would mean a never ending cycle of children who are

illiterate.

2. Population Explosion

The Philippines is one of the most populated nations in the world. It continuously increases at

a fast rate yet the development of the country increases at a slow pace. The growth in population

gives impact to the environment and economy of the country. Since we are a developing country,

we do not have enough facilities to accommodate the increasing population. As more and more

children are born every year, the need for the expansion of institutions is greatly needed. The

administration should resolve the issue regarding the population growth.

3. Inadequate Facilities

Since the Philippines is a developing country, there is a lack of access to reading and writing

materials. The government has not provided enough facilities for education, particularly in

villages throughout the country. Our knowledge is limited due to the technological barriers.

Inadequate facilities do not only refer to the schools and facilities, but also to the labor force, our

teachers, who impart knowledge to children. They must also be globally competitive to develop

further capacities and further value literacy of students.

4. Attitudes towards learning

Children are forced to leave school so they can support their families. According to

UNESCO, 11.1% of Filipino children of ages 15 engaged in child labor. Children are put to work

at a very young age rather than to study. It may be because their parents are one of those who

discourage studying as they want their children to work at a very young age. Also, the common

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reason for not attending school was the lack of personal interest with a percentage of 19.1.

(Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), 2013) They may have

been influenced by their family and friends. This negative attitude towards learning must be

changed to achieve social change.

Effects of Illiteracy in the Philippines:

1. Illiteracy has a major effect on the development of the country.

2. Illiteracy has an effect on the people in the society.

3. Illiterate parents affect their children.

Literacy is a need for us to succeed in today’s global advancement. It is a skill that we need

to be learned at an early age since our day-to-day activities involves reading and writing. It also

develops ourselves to be competitive globally and enhances us to be a better individual. It

develops our critical thinking. However, there are those who are illiterates and they are a huge

threat to our future development.

Literacy is an important factor for individuals to compete in the global market. Since the

development of a country is also measured through its people, illiterates who also comprise the

country’s population are limited to understand essential information because of their lack of skill

in reading and writing. They slow down the development of the country since they are dependent

upon the government, family and friends. They can’t read and write which would be a

disadvantage especially in today since all activities involve writing and reading. In addition,

illiterate persons have little awareness and knowledge which reduced his/her access to

professional development. Illiterate persons find it difficult to get employed since they have no

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skills in reading writing. They end up working in jobs that do not require skills in reading and

writing.

Illiterate parents tend to influence their children up to the next generation. For example, they

believe that it would be better if their children would start working at an early age and drop

classes to earn money for their families. Illiterate people affect people around them. This

negative attitude towards education affects their children’s future.

Solutions to reduce Illiteracy in the Philippines

UNESCO has said literacy transitions are linked to education. This statement agrees to

the findings of Dr. Michael Alba in his journal article “Estimating Literacy Rate: A Study

Relating Literacy Rate with Combined Gross Elementary and Secondary Schools Enrollment

Rate”. According to him, the growth of literacy in the Philippines attributes to the formalization

of the education and the success in achieving its basic objective is to prioritize literacy skills for

the students. Education is the key to literacy. Therefore, we need to promote and develop

solutions that are related to education.

a) Free education

Our future lies in the hands of the children of today. We should strive to make education free

for all children in the country. Education must not be a luxury some can only afford but must be

open to all who are willing to learn. We must change the social barriers now and be open to

change.

b) Awareness in the importance of education

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 It is a need to inform not only the youth but also their parents, the importance of

education. Creating awareness can help them understand the purpose of education and why it

is important to learn how to read and write.

c) Grants

Grants, subsidies, and scholarships can minimize the cost of paying for education. It should

be implemented by the government so that Filipinos will be educated. The cost of financing

education is too high especially for those who live in poverty. Free books can also help those

who are financially unstable lessen the cost of financing their education.

d) Digitization

Developing new equipment which can help develop the study habits and capacity

to learn of students is a must to attain high quality education. Through maximizing the

use and availability of media technology, students will be more interested in learning and

it will be a more effective way of conveying the lesson.

e) Lower educational cost

By lowering the cost of education, the government can make it easier for

people to study what they want to take without limits.

Another is to provide continuous support to teachers and others involved in schools.

Department of Education should provide those involved adequate trainings, support materials,

and guidelines on how to operate literacy programs. Though DepEd is a significant matter

regarding the change, education reforms and literacy can’t be in the hands of DepEd alone.

Schools implement their own strategies to contribute to literacy development. One example is

Reading Literacy Extension Program(RELP) of the University of Northern Philippines in Tamag,

Vigan.

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 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Based from the data that have been gathered, the literacy rate of the Philippines is high.

However, the result also showed that there is significant number of illiterates in the country.

Most cases and the most probable cause of this is poverty. The immense indigence of the country

is alarming and thus, affects how the education system works, in the macro level. Children tend

to be more intellectually capacitated and globally competitive if he/she is learned. Furthermore,

this affects the development of the people in the society and of the country as a whole.

After interpreting the data, the researchers thought of recommendations and possible

resolutions to address the issue. Thus, this shall be directed to the government which is capable

of mandating resolutions. It shall focus more on the education because this is the grass root of

literacy. Moreover, the higher office should make the people aware on the importance of

education. Education is a necessity especially for developing countries because it provides

opportunities for its people, thus it continues to promote development and peace.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Out of school children and youth philippines results 2013 . (2013). Retrieved September 25, 2017, from
https://psa.gov.ph

(2014). Retrieved September 2017, from Statistics of Filipino Women and Men's Education:
http://www.pcw.gov.ph/statistics/201405/statistics-filipino-women-and-mens-education

(2015, September 06). Retrieved September 2017, from Literacy in the Philippines:TThe Stories Behind
the Numbers: https://www.literacyworldwide.org

(2015). Retrieved September 2017, from What are the Causes of Illiteracy?:
http://education.blurtit.com/118279/what-are-the-causes-of-illiteracy

(2016, June 28). Retrieved September 2017, from Poverty, illiteracy & Early Deaths Await World's Most
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http://www.savethechildren.org.ph/our-work/the-challenges/education

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Philippines: http://thekristafaith.blogspot.com

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Grosse, R. N. (1989). Literacy andHealth Status in Developing Countries. Annual Reviews Inc.

Heath, S. B. (2016). Critical Factors of LiteracyDevelopment. Retrieved from

http://shirleybriceheath.net/pdfs/SBH_CriticalFactorsLiteracyDevelopment.pdf

Innovation, E. R. (2012-2013). SEAMEO INNOTECH Annual Report 2012-2013. Educational Policy

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Language Development and Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 2017, from http://www.child-
encyclopedia.com

Martinez, R., & Fernandez, A. (2010). The Social and Economic Impact of Illiteracy. ECLAC-UNESCO.

Nayak, S. (2014, June 13). Top 10 Common Causes of Illiteracy. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from
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experts/factors-influence-language-development

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