Industry leaders on Monday, Aug. 3, called on the administration of President Marcos Jr. to pursue education policies that will continue beyond a single presidency, saying inconsistent implementation has prevented the country from overcoming a learning crisis that has persisted for decades.

The Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), an advocacy group founded and led by the country's top business leaders to drive conversations on key and systemic education reforms, said reforms must remain in place regardless of changes in political leadership to improve learning outcomes and prepare Filipino students for future employment.

“The government must ensure policy continuity and remove long-standing structural bottlenecks through legislation. At the same time, local governments and school leaders must be given greater authority to make decisions closer to learners,” PBEd Executive Director Bal Camua said in a statement.

PBEd issued the appeal as it warned that many of the country's education problems remain the same issues identified by the First Congressional Commission on Education more than 35 years ago.

It said these include concerns on teacher quality, classroom and learning material shortages, poor nutrition, weak foundational skills, and the mismatch between education and labor market needs.

“Thirty-five years is long enough to diagnose the crisis. The next chapter must be about execution,” PBEd Chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. noted.

The group said the country can no longer afford to delay reforms because every learner has only one opportunity to complete each stage of basic education.

“Education reform cannot simply be a program that matures five or 10 years from now. A child gets only one first grade, only one sixth grade, and only one chance to graduate from high school prepared for what comes next,” Del Rosario added.

PBEd said the government has introduced important education reforms over the years but it stressed that the pace of implementation has not matched the scale of the learning crisis facing millions of Filipino students.

The organization warned that poor learning outcomes are already affecting the economy, with employers struggling to find workers who possess the skills required by industries while many college graduates continue to face difficulty finding quality jobs.

“We cannot be an upper-middle-income economy, compete for high-value investments, or take advantage of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies if millions of Filipinos lack the fundamental skills needed to participate in that future,” Del Rosario warned.

PBEd called on businesses to play a larger role in improving education by helping shape industry-relevant curricula, supporting teachers and schools, and strengthening the transition from education to employment.

“The learner comes first, not the institution, not the bureaucracy, and not the political cycle,” Del Rosario said.

Camua added the country cannot afford to lose another generation of learners because of delays in implementing lasting reforms.

“Another generation of Filipino children cannot afford to be left behind while the rest of the country moves forward,” he said.