MANILA, Philippines — The government has allocated P80 million in scholarships for child development workers in the 2025 budget — funding that education champions in Congress hope will raise early childhood education standards nationwide.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will prioritize giving out the scholarships to workers whose highest educational attainment is high school or lower, which the Department of Social Welfare and Development estimates make up about 16.8% of the daycare workforce.
"These efforts respond to EDCOM 2 findings, which reveal a pressing need for more specialized training paths, considering that many CDWs do not have qualifications specific to early childhood education," the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) said in a press release on Wednesday, January 8.
TESDA will partner with the Early Childhood Care and Development Council to develop program implementation guidelines for the scholarships for "the upskilling and reskilling" of child development workers.
"This initiative represents a significant step toward empowering our CDWs to effectively fulfill their responsibilities," Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said in the EDCOM 2 press release.
Government findings show that even those with college degrees (77%) often lack specialized training in early childhood education, the commission added.
In all, at least P104 million will be spent on early childhood education programs in 2025 — around 1.6% of the country's record P6.3-trillion national budget approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last month.
The remaining P24 million will be used to establish eight new childcare centers in select barangays in fifth-class municipalities, which are towns that earn only an average annual income of P15 to P25 million.
These funds will be used to assist local government units in constructing child development center facilities and procuring furniture, equipment, and educational materials, according to EDCOM 2.
“These special provisions laid out in the General Appropriations Act form a strong foundation for the future of Early Childhood Care and Development programs in the country," EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee said.
Rep. Roman Romulo, chairperson of the House basic education committee, also welcomed the allocation and said it would strengthen the country's early childhood education programs.
"Studies say the physical and brain development of a child is critical before reaching the age of five. That is why we must do everything to ensure that timely interventions are done if a child is undernourished or malnourished below age of five. That is where the ECCD programs play a pivotal role," Romulo told Philstar.com.
While Republic Act 10410 or the Early Years Act of 2013 directed the government to achieve universal coverage of early childhood care and development services for children under four by 2018, many areas still lack these basic facilities a decade after the law's passage.
The earmarked funds follow earlier EDCOM 2 findings that found serious shortfalls in access to early childhood education. A 2024 report by the commission found that participation rates remained “stagnant” from 2011 to 2024 due to the limited number of centers nationwide and parents' lack of awareness about them.
Just 20% of children aged 3 to 4 years old were enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs, based on the latest available data in 2022.
The EDCOM 2 report added that the country’s current pre-kindergarten facilities are short of around 33,000 to meet the 96,000 daycare/child development centers required to achieve universal coverage.
The Senate last month passed on final reading a bill that amends the Early Years Act of 2013 to mandate the establishment of child development centers nationwide.