"The situation is dismal and is now at a level that already requires the collective intervention of Mindanao’s leaders, education stakeholders and communities," said Paul Dominguez, Mindanao chairman of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).
This, as a PBSP study showed that Mindanao has the lowest simple functional literary rate in the country — 75 percent, compared with 85.99 percent for Luzon and 80.5 percent for the Visayas, and 83.8 percent nationwide.
Mindanao, according to the study, also has the highest dropout rate.
Of all the regions in Mindanao, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has the lowest literacy rate and highest dropout rate.
Dominguez said the cash-strapped national government should work closely with the private sector to raise funds for education, particularly in Mindanao.
For its part, the PBSP, he said, is allocating a large portion of the P40 million it has raised in the past two years, for its literacy program.
"But there is a need for an awareness drive to heighten national consciousness about the state of Mindanao education," he said.