Press Release
September 15, 2021

Gatchalian warns of education, economic 'scars' because of school closures

At a briefing of the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) on the proposed 2022 National Expenditure Program (NEP), Senator Win Gatchalian flagged both the education and economic scars that will result from prolonged school closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gatchalian, who has been pushing for the pilot testing of limited face-to-face classes-in low-risk areas, cited a 2020 report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which said that the present value cost of face-to-face closure is estimated at P1.9 trillion for School Year 2020-2021 or an equivalent of over 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"It's not only scarring the learner himself or herself, but also scarring the economy through productivity losses." Gatchalian said of the prolonged school closures.

According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) clarified these figures with the ADB which stated that the cost of yearlong school closures could be higher than initially estimated. For its part, NEDA estimates that because of yearlong school closures, productivity lost in the next 40 years will amount to P11 trillion.

Gatchalian also cited other findings of the ADB, which reported that for K-12 students, the net present value of lost productivity is P1.68 trillion. The ADB also said that assuming 50% or approximately 200,000 of 410,000 teachers and personnel in private schools lost their jobs, wage loss for School Year 2020-2021 is estimated at P16 billion.

Considering that at least one adult had to supervise a student for home-based learning, 11% of the workforce had to stop working, which cost the economy a total of P225 billion for one school year, said the ADB.

"I believe that some of our students will not go back to school because last year, we lost close to 2 million students who dropped out of school, including the Alternative Learning System. My fear is that these students will not go back to school anymore, creating a huge scar in terms of our workforce," added the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic also accelerated the utilization of technology, Gatchalian also raised the need for programs such as workers' upskilling to proactively support the transition of sectors, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to the post-COVID economy.

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Trilyong trilyong piso mawawala sa ekonomiya dahil sa pagsasara ng mga paaralan -- Gatchalian

Sa briefing ng Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) sa panukalang 2022 National Expenditure Program (NEP), inihayag ni Senador Win Gatchalian ang kanyang pagkabahala sa tinatawag niyang posibleng "education at economic scars" na maaaring idulot ng pagsasara ng mga paaralan dahil sa pandemya ng COVID-19.

Kasalukuyang ipinapanukala ni Gatchalian ang pilot testing ng limited face-to-face classes sa mga low-risk areas. Sa naturang briefing, ibinahagi ni Gatchalian ang isang 2020 report ng Asian Development Bank (ADB) kung saan tinatayang nagdulot ng pagkawala ng halos dalawang (1.9) trilyong piso o katumbas ng higit sampung porsyento ng Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ang pagsasara ng mga paaralan noong School Year 2020-2021.

"Hindi lamang ang mag-aaral ang nakakaranas ng 'education scarring,' pati ang ekonomiya natin napipinsala dahil sa productivity losses," ani Gatchalian sa matagal nang pagsasara ng mga paaralan.

Ayon kay Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua, nilinaw ng National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) ang mga numerong ito sa ADB. Ayon sa ADB, maaaring mas mataas pa ang halaga ng pinsalang idinulot ng mahigit isang taon na pagsasara ng mga paaralan. Ayon naman sa NEDA, tinatayang labing-isang (11) trilyong piso ang maaaring mawala sa bansa sa susunod na apatnapung (40) taon dahil sa pagsasara ng mga paaralan.

Ibinahagi rin ni Gatchalian ang iba pang mga resulta sa pag-aaral ng ADB. Para sa mga mag-aaral ng K-12, ang kasalukuyang halaga ng nawalang productivity ay mahigit isang (1.68) trilyong piso. Kung kalahati (50%) naman o dalawang daang libo (200,000) sa mahigit apat na raang libong (410,000) mga guro at kawani ng mga pribadong paaralan ang nawalan ng trabaho, ang kawalan ng sahod noong School Year 2020-2021 ay tinatayang aabot sa labing-anim (16) na bilyong piso.

Dahil may isang nakatatandang kinakailangang umalalay sa mga mag-aaral sa kanilang distance learning, labing-isang (11) porsyento ng workforce ang kinailangang huminto sa trabaho. Ito ay nagdulot ng pagkawala ng mahigit dalawang daang (225) bilyong piso sa ekonomiya.

"Naniniwala ako na yung iba nating mga mag-aaral ay hindi na makakabalik sa mga paaralan dahil noong nakaraang taon, may halos dalawang milyong mga mag-aaral ang nag-drop-out, kabilang ang mga mag-aaral sa Alternative Learning System. Ikinakatakot ko na baka hindi bumalik ang mga mga mag-aaral na 'to sa ating paaralan at mapipinsala nito ang ating workforce," pahayag ng Chairman ng Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture.

Dahil naman napabilis ng pandemya ang pagpapalawig sa paggamit ng teknolohiya, binigyang-diin din ni Gatchalian na kinakailangan ang mga programa upang matulungan ang sektor ng pagnenegosyo lalo na ang mga micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) na maging handa para sa post-COVID economy. Kabilang sa mga kinakailangang programa aniya ang upskilling ng mga workers.

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