The Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) 2030 was officially launched on June 3, 2022. The launch was attended by key officials from the Department of Education and members of the Philippines Forum for Quality Basic Education, also known as the Education Forum, private education associations, members of Philippine Congress and other stakeholders.

The Department, together with the stakeholders, committed to uphold the goals set in the plan.

The BEDP 2030 is the Department’s long-term plan for basic education, covering all formal education from kindergarten, elementary, junior high school, to senior high school, as well as non-formal education through the Alternative Learning System.

This shall provide the Department of Education with a more holistic and comprehensive approach to education planning, which goes beyond the usual operational practice of a government agency.

The plan was developed with funding support from Global Partnership for Education (GPE) under a grant managed by UNICEF (the grant agent) and coordinated by the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) as the coordinating agency.

The BEDP development process commenced in 2017 with a scoping mission conducted by UNESCO and UNICEF that aimed to determine the scope of work and resources required in crafting the plan. A series of consultations with key officials and education development partners were undertaken to discuss expectations and collaboration points.

The Education Forum, a platform for consultation and collaboration among education stakeholders and partners, was utilized in engaging partners and stakeholders in the process. Through GPE’s support, the Basic Education Sector Analysis was finalized and the formulation of the BEDP could start.

A participatory process to build ownership of the plan

To set the long-term direction on basic education, a high-level visioning and direction setting workshop was conducted with Secretary Leonor Briones, the Executive Committee members, and the regional and central office directors. Separate sessions with children and youth were also conducted to elicit their views and aspirations on education.

By listening to the voices of youth (learners), we generated practical needs and priorities for the short and long term. Learners mentioned that they wanted more practice in reading, that they needed complete sets of learning materials, and wanted safe and bully-free schools.

Civil society partners, who are an integral part of the Education Forum, pushed to expand coverage of the alternative learning system, ensuring an inclusive and gender sensitive education system.

With this, the BEDP 2030 Results Framework was developed, outlining the priorities for the Department of Education in addressing the immediate and long-term challenges confronting basic education, particularly the impact of COVID-19.

The intermediate outcomes spell out what the agency aspires for the learners to acquire through its 4 pillars (access, equity, quality, resiliency and well-being), and governance as enabling mechanisms.

The strategies under each pillar shall serve as the springboard in formulating policies, systems, programs and projects. These shall address issues and challenges identified in the analysis.

This shall also provide guidance in the preparation of the costed operational plan of the BEDP 2030.

The BEDP was presented to and endorsed by the Education Forum and the Social Development Committee of National Economic and Development Authority Technical Board.

The plan was adopted through DepEd Order 24 s. 2022 and finally launched on June 3 in a large event attended by 180 in-person and more than 200 virtual participants.

Lessons learned in the plan development

1. It is essential that the planning process is participatory to consider the views and priorities of all stakeholders in the basic education sector.
2. It’s important to keep the focus on priority areas.
3. It’s important to ensure that strategies and interventions are sufficient and necessary to achieve the stated vision, mission and objectives.

Ways forward

With the official adoption of the BEDP, all Department of Education offices shall align their policies and programs with the BEDP 2030. The plan will be implemented in two phases:

• Phase I (2022-2025) focuses on addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on learning delivery, issues on reading and numeracy skills, and the decentralization of programs, projects, and activities.
• Phase 2 (2026-2030) focuses on sustaining gains, the institutionalization of education future’s initiatives, and developing emerging education technology and innovations.