With the country’s fertility now below replacement rate, the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) said lifelong learning is crucial to reaping the demographic dividends and sustaining the country’s economic growth.
On Thursday, Undersecretary for Population and Development (POPDEV) Lisa Grace S. Bersales said the country’s total fertility rate was already at 1.9 in 2022, below replacement level. This means less than two children are born to women of reproductive age.
Bersales said this has contributed to the gradual decrease in population growth rate and changing population-age structure, with an increasing proportion of the working-age population.
“We envision that by 2028, more Filipinos would have increased access to high-quality education and lifelong learning opportunities that will equip them further with additional and enhanced competencies. These will support their positive contribution to the economy, their respective communities, and to society as a whole,” she said.
Bersales added that the current administration’s socioeconomic development agenda, transformative lifelong opportunities will be pursued as an integral strategy to ensure all Filipinos will realize their full potential centered on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly on Quality Education or SDG 4.
“This has yielded a wider window of opportunity for optimizing the country’s demographic dividend,” Bersales said in her statement at the 56th Session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD 56).
Bersales said transformative education and lifelong learning, according to her, was outlined in the Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028 as key strategies aimed at improving the quality, inclusivity, adaptability and resiliency of basic education.
She added there is a need to attain global competitiveness and inclusivity in terms of technical and vocational education and training and heighten governance for human-capital development.
The Popcom Chief said various pieces of legislation, such as the Philippine Qualifications Framework Act, or Republic Act 10968 helps in this regard.
This seeks to establish standards and levels of learning outcomes aligned with industry qualifications toward holistic human capital development.
She added that the Philippine Skills Framework was also developed and is being implemented jointly by agencies on higher education, skills development and employment to better prepare the labor force for the said “future economy.”
Meanwhile, she said the Philippine Youth Development Plan (2023-2028) is presently enabling unified action among the young, institutions and stakeholders promoting holistic and meaningful youth participation by promoting health and educational outcomes.
At the 56th Session of the Commission on Population and Development, Bersales delivered the national statement before global stakeholders based on this year’s theme of population, education and sustainable development.