Oz-Dev: Philippines Muslim and Indigenous Educatio

The Muslim and Indigenous People’s Education Program (the Program) seeks to improve equitable access to and quality of education for girls and boys in disadvantaged Muslim and indigenous communities in the Philippines. It will build upon and scale up nationwide the specific support activities for Muslims and Indigenous peoples (IPs) developed under the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) which concluded in November 2009.

Muslims and IPs make up a quarter of the Philippine population. These communities are marginalised and their vulnerability is exacerbated by poverty and lack of basic social services. They face significant challenges in accessing education that provides culturally relevant curriculum and teaching materials, is taught by well-trained teachers and is informed by a policy framework that meets their specific needs. These communities are the most affected as education investment falls resulting in decreased literacy rates compared with the national average.

The Philippines Department of Education (DepED) is implementing a package of key transformation initiatives contained in its Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) for improved service delivery. However, the DepED’s human and financial resource constraints would make the specific focus needed to address Muslim and IPs challenges difficult to meet.