CHAPTER 8 Social Development Developing the social sector is a key ingredient towards realizing inclusive growth. The social sector provides the services that allow the process of social inclusion, which is a pillar of inclusive growth, to take place. Social inclusion happens if people have adequate capabilities and are adequately protected against man-made and natural shocks. It is achieved by removing all barriers that hinder them from accessing development opportunities. To build human capabilities in the next three years, the region aims to deepen the development of its human capital as well as improve the physical well-being of Central Visayans, particularly the poor and vulnerable. This will be done in order to give them equal access to development opportunities, such as employment. Thus, the updated regional development plan will focus on addressing challenges that impede the delivery of education and training, health care and housing services from being more inclusive, efficient and effective. Building human capabilities will also require the provision of access to productive assets such as land. Access to productive assets allows people to use their acquired capabilities. Therefore, the updated plan shall give equal attention to the improvement of land reform program implementation and enhancement of the ancestral domain management by indigenous peoples. The availability of adequate social protection and safety nets is another integral component of social inclusion since this helps the poor and vulnerable groups overcome shocks produced by natural disasters, conflict, illness, changing demographic profile and economic instability that diminishes the poor and vulnerable people's already limited capability to access development opportunities. Thus, the updated plan shall address the need to enhance further the coverage of social protection and safety nets. 8-1 Chapter 8 The sector's efforts shall be guided by the Social Contract of the President with the Filipino people as well as by the country's pursuit of attaining the social dimensions of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) dealing with education, health and nutrition, decent shelter, access to potable water and sanitation facilities. A. Assessment and Challenges The implementation of several social development programs in the past three years contributed in making growth more inclusive and consequently reducing poverty in Central Visayas. Between 2010 and 2012, the region was on track in achieving 4 of the 7 MDGs, which were on reducing child mortality, promoting gender and equality, fighting HIV/Aids and malaria and increasing access to potable water and sanitation facilities. The region also gained headway towards increasing the coverage and effectiveness of social protection and safety nets through the expansion of the 4Ps and other social protection programs. Despite the accomplishments of the social sector, unemployment still persists and poverty incidence is still way above the 2015 MDG poverty level target. This means that the social sector needs to do more so that its contribution to inclusive growth will be substantial enough to fasttrack the reduction of poverty incidence in Central Visayas, thus enabling the region to meet the 2015 MDG target. In the next three years the region needs to address the factors that hamper it from realizing the following: (a) full development of its human capital; (b) better health and housing conditions of the poor and some vulnerable groups; (c) better access of the poor and vulnerable groups to land; and (d) provision of adequate social protection and safety nets. It also needs to rehabilitate a number of social infrastructure that were considerably damaged by recent calamities. 1 . Underdeveloped human capital Developing the region's human capital, which refers to the stock of competencies, skills and knowledge of people, applies not only to the current workforce but also to children who will form part of the region’s future working population. The quality of workforce in the region is primarily dependent on the quality of education and training that people receive from higher learning institutions and vocational-technical education centers as well as from the primary and secondary schools, which help hone core competencies that will later be developed into higher skills. 8-2 Chapter 8 While quality of education and training is the main determinant in the development of human capital, an equally critical issue that must be addressed is access to education and training since the process of skills and knowledge development begins upon entry to the region’s education and training system. Data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that around 40 per cent of workers in the region have not attended secondary education while about 75 per cent have not attended tertiary education. This means that only 25 per cent of the workers in Central Visayas are either undergraduates or graduates of college. This data is further substantiated by the results of the 2011 Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (APIS) conducted also by NSO, which reveals that many people who are expected to be in school or developing further their skills through higher education are not getting formal education and training. The results of the survey showed that only two-thirds of Central Visayas' population aging 3 to 24 years old is currently attending school. More than half of those attending school were at the primary level while 26.8 per cent were at the secondary level. On the other hand, only 10.6 per cent of individuals surveyed who were suppose to be currently receiving some form of higher education and training were attending higher education while 0.1 per cent were attending post secondary school. Clearly, there is a need for the region to invest in its human capital in order to expand the region’s pool of highly-skilled workers and meet the manpower supply requirements of emerging and dynamically growing industries. The investments of the region on developing human capital must address the challenges that impede children and the working-age population from acquiring skills and knowledge needed to access development opportunities now and in the future. In the past three years, the region undertook several initiatives and programs in an effort to put all school-age going children in school and enhance their core competencies. It also initiated programs to enhance the employability of higher-education and technical-vocational graduates and to make higher- education programs more inclusive. But still, participation, retention and achievement rates in basic education remained low and fell below targets. It is also very hard to establish the extent to which higher education and tech-voc graduates are employable. Moreover, the sustainability in the implementation of higher-education programs, which were designed to be inclusive, leaves room for doubt. Figure 8.1 shows basic education enrollment rates for Central Visayas while Table 8.2 (see page 8-6) shows the region's achievement rates. 8-3 Chapter 8 Figure 8.1 Basic Education Net Enrollment Rates SY 2009-2010 to SY 2011-2012 Central Visayas Region Source: Department of Education 7 These undesirable outcomes stem from inadequate education facilities and resources as well as limited capacities of teachers in basic education. The lack of mechanisms for skills assessment, certification and monitoring of employability of graduates; and the unsustainable implementation of higher- education programs to promote inclusion aggravates the situation. a . Inadequate school facilities and resources In both primary and secondary education, poor physical condition of classrooms characterized by poor ventilation, overcrowding, and lack of facilities were among the reasons cited for the low net enrolment, cohort survival, and completion rates. In the secondary level where low participation, retention and achievement rates are more notable, the insufficiency of schools for secondary level was a huge challenge. Secondary schools are not accessible for students living in far-flung barangays. Schools with day class schedules, which are preferred by parents over night high schools, are inadequate in urban areas. Child labor is also a top reason why children could not continue and complete secondary education. For SY 2012-2013, deficiency in classrooms was more pronounced at the secondary level, where majority of school divisions exceeded the maximum 1:45 classroom-to-pupil ratio. Further, the region still lacks school furniture both at 8-4 Chapter 8 the primary and secondary levels as of SY 2012-2013. In general, at least two students share a unit of furniture such as classroom table and chair. Although the regional average of teacher to pupil ratio was within the standard of 1 teacher per 45 students, there were a number of school divisions that did not meet this standard hence, sufficiency of teachers also contributed to low achievement rates particularly in these school divisions. Table 8.1 shows the Central Visayas ratios on education resources per pupil for SY 2012 by school divisions. Table 8.1 Classroom, Furniture and Teacher-to-Pupil Ratios by School Divisions, SY 2012-2013 Central Visayas Region Classroom-to-Pupil Furniture-to-Pupil Teacher-to-Pupil Ratio, Schools Ratio, SY 2012-2013 Ratio, SY 2012-2013 SY 2012-2013 Division Primary Secondary Primary Secondary Primary Secondary Bais City 1: 38.46 1: 46.80 1: 1.05 1: 0.98 1: 39.04 1: 38.88 Bayawan City 1: 38.43 1: 51.86 1: 1.08 1: 1.00 1: 36.16 1: 36.00