A children's organization said that addressing learning gaps among Filipino learners and ensuring their safe return to school should be among the top priorities of the incoming administration.
Following the 2022 elections, Save the Children Philippines called duly-elected officials to “ensure each and every child will live in safe and inclusive environments where they can enjoy their rights, grow as productive members of society, and have the future they deserve.”
In particular, the new administration was urged to adopt a “multi-sectoral and holistic approach” to child health, nutrition, and early childhood development to ensure that infants and young children are safe, healthy, and ready to learn at all times. The group also underscored the urgency of addressing learning gaps among learners.
This, Save the Children Philippines said, is possible by building learners' learning competencies, including children with disabilities.
Moreover, there is also a need to strengthen teacher professional development, ensuring that adequate mental health and psychosocial support are made available to learners to ensure their mental wellness, and providing appropriate facilities and adequate resources to support their optimum development.
The organization also called on the incoming admin to “come up with policies and programs with sufficient budgetary support to ensure children’s safe return to school, including the readiness of learners, teachers, and school facilities, and protection of children from Covid-19 and other emergencies.”
Likewise, the new admin should also enact and fully implement policies with adequate resources that will protect all children from all forms of violence and abuse --- including physical and psychological abuse, particularly in the home setting, and that would strengthen children’s protection from online abuse and exploitation.
Save the Children Philippines said that the duly-elected officials should also “help children and their families bounce back from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and other natural hazards by stepping up cash assistance, livelihood employment, and social protection programs.”
Moreover, the new admin was urged to improve the readiness of children and communities to protect themselves from the impacts of climate change, conflict, and natural disasters and calamities through capacity building, awareness raising, and provisions for appropriate equipment and facilities that will improve the quality and timeliness of humanitarian response.
Save the Children Philippines is also pushing for the availability of safe spaces for children, community groups, and civil society organizations to engage with the government, and share their inputs and recommendations to ensure that government policies and programs are responsive to the issues they are seeking to address.
The new admin was also urged to ensure full implementation of existing laws that support children’s enjoyment of their rights.
In this critical time of transition, Save the Children is calling on all elected officials to focus on the urgent needs of children and set out their solutions that will ensure the fulfillment and protection of children’s rights.
“We hope to see a strong commitment to transparency and accountability in serving the Filipino people with integrity and competence to create a lasting positive change in the lives of children,” the organization said.