MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 71 - STRENGTHENING THE RESOLVE TO ERADICATE ILLITERACY BY THE YEAR 2000

WHEREAS, the Constitution mandates that the State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all;  

WHEREAS, the State is also mandated to encourage nonformal, informal and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-school study programs particularly those that respond to community needs:

WHEREAS, the period 1990-1999, by virtue of Proclamation No. 480, s. 1989, has been declared as the "Decade of Education For All" which seeks to eradicate illiteracy by the year 2000;

WHEREAS, there are about 2.8 million illiterate and 11.7 million functionally illiterate Filipinos in the country today;

WHEREAS, there is a need to strengthen and intensify government, non-government and private sector efforts to deliver literacy and related interventions particularly to those in depressed, disadvantaged and underserved areas; and

WHEREAS, the Government is promoting the policy of decentralization in the areas of policy formulation, planning and implementation including delivery of literacy services;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the power vested in me by law, do hereby order as follows:

1. The Literacy Coordinating Council to serve as the national advisory and coordinating body to provide overall policy and program direction to the country's literacy efforts and to spearhead the movement for the eradication of illiteracy by the year 2000;

2. The Department of Education, Culture and Sports to lead and coordinate government's efforts in identifying the needs and priorities of the government's literacy programs and projects;

3. The Department of Interior and Local Government to mobilize and ensure that all Local Chief Executives assume the responsibility for eradication of illiteracy in their areas by the year 2000, and that eradication of illiteracy indicators be included as one of the criteria for evaluating performance of Local Chief Executives;

4. The National Statistics Office to ensure that timely and accurate statistics on literacy are provided through the conduct of Functional Literacy and Mass Media Survey; (FLEMMS) in 1994 and 1999;

5. The Philippine Information Agency to tap the active participation of media in generating public awareness, expanding and improving the outreach; and delivery of literacy and literacy-supportive programs and projects;

6. The Office of Northern Cultural Communities, Office of Southern Cultural Communities and Office of Muslim Affairs to strengthen linkages with other agencies delivering literacy services in order to intensify literacy promotion and eradication of illiteracy among cultural communities; and

7. Nongovernmental organizations including the private sector will be encouraged and harnessed by government to contribute resources and expertise in eradicating illiteracy in our country.

Since 19.07.98.