THE GOVERNMENT needs to focus on improving teaching quality and make up for school days lost to weather disturbances as the immediate priorities in improving literacy and educational outcomes, the World Bank said.

“I would think that the low-hanging fruit (include) focusing on the quality of the teaching profession,” according to Zafer Mustafaoğlu, World Bank country director for the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.

At a briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Mustafaoğlu was responding to a query by Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development, who noted the “sad state” of literacy in the Philippines.

According to the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey, about 90% of Filipinos aged five years or older were found to have had a basic standard of literacy.

Mr. Mustafaoğlu said: “We have to look at the overall teaching system, teaching methods, and again, one important part is class size and the continuity of schooling days,” he said.

In November, the World Bank approved a $500-million package to finance the construction of climate-resilient schools in a program known as the Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools Project.

Mr. Mustafaoğlu added that the government should also address the school days lost to excessive heat or flooding.

About 53 teaching days were lost in school year 2023-2024 as teachers performed non-teaching tasks and also due to climate-related disruptions, according to a preliminary finding from the Second Congressional Commission on Education and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

In a report last year, the World Bank said education systems in lowest-income countries remain the most vulnerable to the climate crisis with 18 school days lost annually on average, compared to 2.4 days in wealthier nations. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante