The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) is a national commission tasked to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector.

 The Philippine Education Sector faces a learning crisis. Based on the World Bank’s 2022 report on the State of Global Learning Poverty, the Philippines’ learning poverty ranks among the highest in the Asian region, at 90.9%. The country fared the worst among the ASEAN countries, with the exception of Lao PDR (97.7%) and Brunei (no assessment). This means that nine in every 10 Filipinos aged 10 years old need to be taught how to read and to develop their reading comprehension.

Objectively measured, the quality of Philippine education fares no better. In 2019, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results showed that 80% of Filipino learners have not reached the global minimum competency levels for education. The country scored the lowest in reading, and second lowest in math and science among the 79 participating countries. PISA is a worldwide study, done every 3 years, that evaluates education systems in nations around the globe.

To address this learning crisis, the Eighteenth Congress created EDCOM II to provide for an objective assessment and examination of our education system.