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By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
Expenditures for food and utilities are given
more priority by poor Filipino households over education and health,
according to a recent study by a government think-tank.
“With the current and continuing increase in
food prices, especially rice, the staple food of most Filipinos, the
expenditure share in education will probably decrease further,”
the Philippine Institute of Development Studies’ study said.
The institute cited the 2002 Annual Poverty
Income survey that reported 50.7 percent of total family expenses
are allocated for food, 7.3 percent for utilities, 4.5 percent for
education and 2.5 percent for health.
In 2004, with an increase of about 2.5
percentage points in food expenditure, the expenditure share for
education dropped to 3 percent.
While education is seen as a mechanism for the
poor to exit poverty, the results of the 2002 and 2004 income
surveys implied that the poor are less likely to obtain basic
education, the institute said.
“Children, especially from poor families, are
forced to stay out of school not only because they cannot afford the
costs but also because given the poor quality of education, it
becomes more rational for them to work than to stay in school,” it
added.
“Both cost and quality factors are inherently
tied to poverty, as poor families have to sacrifice sending their
children to school especially during periods of crisis and poor
families have limited means of sending their children to schools
that provide quality education,” the study said.
It added that children of families who belong to
the bottom 30 percent of the income decile are 2.8 times more likely
to be out of school than those in the upper 70 percent income group.
The study said boys, more than the girls, are
more likely not to attend school. More specifically, boys are 1.4
times more likely not to attend school than girls.
The institute estimated that about 716,000
children in 2002 and 750,000 children in 2004 between the ages of 6
and 11 (the primary age group) were not attending school.
For the secondary age group (12 to 15 years
old), about 705,000 children in 2002, or 10 percent of the total,
and 896,000 children in 2004, representing 9 percent of the total,
were not attending school.
The institute’s study showed that lack of
personal interest was the reason for not attending school with 29.4
percent, followed by high cost of education, 15 percent and failure
to cope with school work, 10.5 percent.
For the secondary age group, 43 percent cited
lack of personal interest for not attending school while 26.8
percent cited the high cost of education.
“It is also interesting to note that for the
primary age group, 72 percent and 67 percent of those who were not
attending school [or about 518,000 and 500,000] in 2002 and 2004,
respectively, belong to the bottom 30 percent of the income
distribution groups,” the study said.
In the case of the secondary age group, 68.1
percent (or about 479,600 in 2002) and 57.5 percent (or about
392,000 in 2004) of those who were not attending school belong to
the bottom 30 percent of the income distribution groups, the study
added.
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