Filipino children lost a year, 5 mos with schools closed
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ILIPINO children lost a year and five months of learning because of the closure of schools, seriously derailing the buildup of human capital, according to the latest report released by the World Bank. In the report “Collapse and Recovery: How COVID-19 Eroded Human Capital and What to Do About It,” the World Bank said the Philippines closed schools for 510 days or a year and four months. It estimated that for every 30 days that schools are closed, students lose 32 days of learning. Using this estimate, students in the Philippines lost a total of 544
days of learning. “ T he pandemic and school closures threatened to wipe out decades of progress in building human capital. Targeted policies to reverse the losses in foundational learning, health, and skills are critical to avoid jeopardizing the development of multiple generations,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “Countries need to chart a new course for greater human capital investments to help citizens become more resilient to the overlapping threats of health shocks, conflict, slow growth and climate change and also lay a solid foun-
dation for faster, more inclusive growth,” he added. The World Bank cited three factors that affected students’ learning during the pandemic. The first factor was that remote classes were less effective as a mode of instruction compared to in-person schooling. Remote learning was less effective because globally, more than two-thirds of children ages 3-17 or 1.3 billion lacked internet access at home. In middle income countries like India, a total of 29 million did not even have access to smartphones, feature phones, television, radio, or computers.
The second factor was that students devoted less time to learning compared to pre-pandemic times as their parents struggled to compensate for the loss in “instructional time with teachers.” In some countries, the time spent learning per day declined by 71 percent or six hours per day compared to the time before school closures. The last factor was the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of students. The report stated that globally, children reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both while others reported
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MB DEALS 50-BPS RATE HIKE; MORE IN FUTURE www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Friday, February 17, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 125
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By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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ITH the higherthanexpected inflation in January and the recovery of consumption spending, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it is possible for monetary authorities to further raise interest rates in the Monetary Board’s succeeding meetings. On Thursday, the MB increased the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility by 50 basis points to 6 percent, effective February 17, 2023, a move that was widely expected. The BSP said the interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities will be set to 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. “Yes, anything is possible [additional rate hikes]. The least likely scenario is a no increase in the next meeting. We cannot rule out anything but if I were to say which is the least likely scenario, it’s zero in the next meeting. Of course if a negative
MASBATE QUAKE (Left photo) The damaged Magallanes coliseum in Masbate is seen after a strong earthquake rocked the central Philippine province on Thursday, sending people out of their homes at night, prompting dozens of patients to be evacuated from a hospital and causing minor damage to the government coliseum and business establishments, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage from the magnitude 6 quake that was set off by a local fault line at a depth of 10 km, about 11 km west of the coastal town of Batuan in Masbate province, officials said. (Above) MMDA Acting Chairman Atty. Don Artes formally launches the MMDA Rescue Training Center, which aims to improve and institutionalize disaster response measures in the metropolis, at a news conference held at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City. City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Masbate via AP/NONOY LACZA
CRUISE TOURISTS SEEN TO BRING PHL P216M By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
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HE arrival of close to 40,000 cruise passengers in the country this year is expected to generate at least $4 million (P216 million) in visitor receipts to the economy. Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the scheduled 139 port calls by international cruise ships shows the readiness of the Philippines to become a major cruise destination in Asia. She personally welcomed 317 guests and 415 crew mem-
bers of the Silver Spirit on February 15, at the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal, Manila South Harbor. “The arrival of this cruise ship into this port signals the resurgence of the cruise tourism industry. This signals confidence, as well in travel and tourism into the Philippines. We’re very grateful for the support of the City of Manila to open up its harbor to our visitors from all over the world and we’re hopeful that this arrival may signal many more in the year to come,” she said. She underscored the eco-
nomic benefits from cruise tourism, estimating “the average spend is $100 dollars per cruise call per person….[This] shows the downstream effect not only on our national government revenues, but also on our local government revenues.” While popular destinations such as Manila, Puerto Princesa, Boracay, Bohol, and Cebu will be visited by the cruise ships, she noted that other lesser known destinations are also on the cruise itineraries such as Apo Reef (Occidental Mindoro), See “Cruise,” A2
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PESO exchange rates n US 55.1050 n japan 0.4109 n UK 66.3023 n HK 7.0217 n CHINA 8.0427 n singapore 41.2524 n australia 38.0390 n EU 58.9128 n KOREA 0.0429 n SAUDI arabia 14.6899 Source: BSP (February 16, 2023)