Rep. Brian Poe of the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list spotlighted urgent reforms needed in the Philippine education system at the Asian Graduate Studies Summit 2026 in Tagaytay City.
Poe addressed a diverse group of educators, researchers, and policymakers, stressing that the country's education crisis is deep-rooted and requires a multifaceted approach.
Educational Challenges Highlighted
Of every hundred children who reach Grade 3, only about thirty can read and reason at their level. By Grade 12, that number is less than one child in a hundred. That is not a gap. That is a collapse.
Rep. Brian Poe
Citing alarming statistics from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2), Poe noted that foundational learning struggles begin well before children enter school, largely due to malnutrition and childhood stunting.
- Access to quality education remains limited, particularly in underserved areas.
- Teachers are overloaded with administrative tasks that detract from their primary teaching responsibilities.
Poe argued that nutrition and education policies must be aligned, stating, "A feeding program is an education program. A nutrition budget is a literacy budget."
Proposed Solutions for Systemic Issues
To alleviate teacher burdens, he introduced the Cloud Kitchen Law, which aims to centralize food preparation in schools, allowing educators to concentrate on teaching.
That's why I filed the bill for the Cloud Kitchen Law, which creates centralized cloud kitchens with professional staff.
Rep. Brian Poe
The initiative seeks to provide standardized meals without adding to teachers' workloads.
Poe also stressed the importance of closing the digital divide, emphasizing that access to education in the modern age must include reliable internet connectivity.
Call for Accountability and Future Research
He called for better coordination to ensure that public investments in digital access reach isolated communities, reinforcing the need for accountability in the implementation of education reforms.
Concluding his remarks, Poe urged the academic community to anchor public policy in research and evidence, reinforcing the notion that long-term thinking is vital for sustainable educational reform.