PSA says illiteracy figures for high school grads misreported

THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said recent reports on illiteracy levels of high school graduates are inaccurate, and clarified that the correct number is 5.58 million 2024 graduates that are “basically literate but not functionally literate.”

It was responding to reports that 19 million graduates are “functionally illiterate,” saying that it reported no such statistic.

“The PSA has no report, in any form, stating that the estimated number of functionally illiterate high school graduates and junior high school completers is 19 million,” it said, citing the results of its 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey. 

The PSA said the “not functionally literate” category, which had been misreported as “functionally illiterate,” covers graduates who can read, write, and compute only.

It said the 19 million figure reported referred to “basically literate but not functionally literate” individuals ages 10 to 64 years old regardless of highest grade completed — not high school and junior high school graduates only.

The estimated number of “not functionally literate” high school graduates, including junior high school completers aged 10 to 64 years is 6.45 million in 2024, it said. 

Meanwhile, the “not functionally literate” population between 10 and 64 years old, regardless of highest grade completed, is estimated at 24.83 million.

In the report, the PSA said among persons for ages five years old and over, 6.9% cannot read and write and can be classified as illiterate. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante