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Release Date :
Reference Number :
2011-03

 

Figure 1MDG

 

 

 

Seven out of ten females complete at least elementary education

The Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) shows the educational attainment of the population aged six years old and over. The survey results in 2003 and 2008 revealed an increasing trend  in the proportion of population aged six years old and over who had completed at least elementary education. From 62 percent in 2003, the proportion who have completed at least elementary education increased to 68 percent in 2008.

Seven out of ten females six years old and over completed at least elementary education. This figure is higher compared to that for males (65.1%) (Figure 1).

On the other hand, 38.7 percent of population six years old and over completed at least high school education. This figure is higher among females compared to males (41.1% vs. 36.4%).

Four regions surpass the national figure among those who completed at least elementary education

National Capital Region topped the regions in terms of the proportion of population who completed at least elementary education (79%). It is followed by Regions I, III and IV-A, (73% each). These four regions surpassed the national figure among those who completed at least elementary education. ARMM posted the lowest with only 46 percent (Figure 2).

By region, the proportion of population who completed at least elementary education is higher among females compared to their male counterparts.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Nine out of ten female adolescents are functionally literates

Based on FLEMMS results, the basic literacy rate of Filipinos in 2008 is 95.6 percent and the functional literacy rate is 86.4 percent.

The literacy rate is higher among 15 to 24 years old or the adolescents. The basic and functional literacy rates for adolescents are 97.8 percent and 91.3 percent, respectively. This means that adolescents, in general, are able to read, write and compute (Figure 3).

Both basic and functional literacy rates are higher  among female adolescents compared to their male counterparts. The basic literacy rate and functional literacy rate of female adolescents are 98.5 percent and 94 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the basic literacy rate and functional literacy rate of male adolescents are 97 percent and 88.7 percent, respectively (Figure 3).

Ratio of literate female adolescents to literate male adolescents meets the MDG target of 1.0

The MDG indicator 2.3a targets that the ratio of literate female adolescents to literate male adolescents in 2015 is 1.0.

The results of FLEMMS in 2008 revealed that the ratio of literate female adolescents to literate male adolescents in
the country was 1.0 for both basic and functional literacy.

Of the 17 regions, only NCR fell short from the target (Table 2) in terms of basic literacy ratio of one female to one male adolescent. In terms of functional literacy ratio, seven regions (NCR, IV-A, VI, IX, XI, Caraga and ARMM) fell short from the target ratio of one female to one male adolescent (Table 3).

Adolescents in Region IV-A post the highest functional literacy rate

In 2009, adolescents in NCR posted the highest simple literacy rate of 99.3 percent while adolescents in ARMM posted the lowest of 95.5 percent. With regards to sex, the simple literacy rate of female adolescents is higher compared to male adolescents in all regions, except for Regions I and II. The simple literacy rates of male adolescents in Region I is 99.0 percent and for female adolescents, 98.5 percent. In Region II, simple literacy rates of male adolescents is 98.3 percent and their female counterpart, 97.5 percent.

On the other hand, the functional literacy rate among adolescents was 91.3 percent. It was higher for females (94%) compared to males (88.7%). Across regions, Region IV-A posted the highest functional literacy rate of 96.3 percent. It slightly surpassed NCR with a reported functional literacy rate of 95.4 percent. Region IX posted the lowest rate with 86 percent. Functional literacy of female adolescents is higher compared to their male counterparts in all the region.

Goal 2

TECHNICAL NOTES

The 2008 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) is a national survey that gathers information on basic and functional literacy status of the population, the educational skills qualifications, and exposure of the population to mass media. It is the fourth in a series of functional literacy surveys conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO). The three previous rounds were conducted in 1989, 1994, and 2003. The survey is conducted in order to obtain data that will be used as basis of educational policies and programs that will improve the coverage and quality of education in the country.

The 2008 FLEMMS was conducted by the NSO in coordination with the Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

Basic literacy or simple literacy refer20s to the ability of a person 10 years old and over to read and write with understanding a simple message in any language or dialect. In this survey, basic literacy status of an individual was determined based on the respondents answer to the question “Can ____ read and write a simple message in any language or dialect?”

Functional literacy refers to the ability of a person 10 to 64 years old who can read, write, compute and comprehend.

Adolescents refer to population 15 to 24 years old.

Net Enrolment ratio is the ratio of the enrolment for the age group corresponding to the official school age in the
elementary level to the population of the same age group in a given year (Research and Statistics Department,
Department of Education).

Primary Completion Rate is the percentage of first grade entrant in a level of education who complete/finish the
level in accordance with the required number of years of study (Research and Statistics Department,
Department of Education).

Ratio of literate females to males of 15 to 24 year-olds is the number of females with age 15 to 24 years old who
can read and write a simple message in any language or dialect to males.

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