Topic: Access to Education for Girls
Country: Philippines
Delegate Name: Billy Whalen
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Philippines position papers GLIMUN 2012 committees
In the world today, many girls face discriminatory governments and laws that forbid them from obtaining an education. But in the Philippines, girls are given the opportunity to pursue education at both an elementary level and advancement through secondary education. The Filipino government recognizes equality between the sexes and is an advocate against the discrimination of women in the educational system. This attitude has been reflected into the educational system within the country. It is recorded that the majority of those enrolled in school in the Philippines are women. They outnumber the males in nearly every secondary school in the country. With the former problem of gender discrimination in mind, the government of the Republic of the Philippines has established countless laws, signed multiple treaties, and attended many conventions on the issue of access to education for girls. Additionally many NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations) have played a dominant role in the country for both establishing access to education for women and securing its importance in the government.
The Filipino government has numerous laws ensuring the equality of women in education. The Barangay (Village) Day Care Center Law calls for the creation of daycares and early education systems in every village so women can be introduced to the educational system at an early age. The Early Childhood Care and Development Act enforces that each village maintain its daycare and early educational facilities. In addition, the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001, encourages decision making from schools on more local levels as opposed to solely following the laws of the government. These laws solidify the fact that the government in the Philippines has made large strides to better their people. But not only has the government made progress with in the Philippines; official NGO’s have stepped up and combated discrimination. Organizations such as Popular Education and People Enforcement (PEPE) and Education For Life Foundation (ELF) have played the most dominant roles in the country by siding with the weak and advocating for a social change through the empowerment of women.
The Republic of The Philippines urges the United Nations to help with the improvement of education systems both domestically and internationally. The nation values education and it believes that in order for a person to contribute to society and advance both the government and help industrialize the economy, it needs an educated population. The issues the government would like to see addressed are keeping youth in school as opposed to working at young ages to support family income, provide schools in disaster prone areas and areas of conflict with proper tools, and educate kids on school work as well as “life lessons” that will make them less vulnerable in real world experiences.
