All over the world, 113 million children to date are de­prived of any education. Locally, 50% of all Filipino children, mostly in remote rural areas, indigenous people communities, conflict zones and depressed urban com­munities are missing an education.

As such, the Global Campaign on Education (GCE) and Education International staged the Global Week of Ac­tion for Education 2004 to lobby and pressure the gov­ernment to invest more money in public education in order to get all children into school. The theme of the Global Week of Action for Education 2004 is "Children Missing an Education".

The PHILIPPINE WEEK of ACTION on EDUCATION 2004 in Brief

The Philippine Week of Action on Education 2004, headed by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines was organized through the initiative of the National Pro­gram Against Child Labour Education Sub-group.

The Philippines Week of Action on Education 2004, com­posed of more than 40 organizations coming from dif­ferent teachers' unions, children's associations, political organizations, government agencies, non-government organizations, civil society groups, international organi­zations and people's organizations, staged its main ac­tion from April 14-25, 2004 as an important contribution to the Global Campaign for Education.

The Department of Education sponsored the Education Stakeholders' Forum on EFA with the theme "Strength­ening Grand Alliance to Reduce Basic Education Disad­vantage" on April 19. It was attended by national and local government units, teachers' unions, children leaders, formal & non-formal educators and personnel, civil society groups, NGOs, youth organizations and busi­ness sector, to name a few.

The main highlight of the week's activities was the Big­gest National Lobby held at the Batasang Pambansa (National Parliament) last April 20. More than 6,000 delegates from different sectors attended the event which was simultaneously done in various parts of the country like Cebu, Davao, and parts of Luzon. Children representatives from the indigenous peoples, displaced people, differently-able persons, child labourers, out of school youths, and urban, poor etc. were joined by rep­resentatives from teachers unions, NGOs, government agencies, international organizations and the media in the call for greater action and commitment to address the challenges and issues plaguing the education system in the country.

Speakers representing various local and international organisations were invited to present papers. These in­cluded representatives from ILO, El, ILO-PEC, UNICEF Committee on Human Rights (Philippines) and Commit­tee on Education (Philippines).

Finally, the program was concluded with the symbolic signing by the representatives from the different sectors of society (the legislative body, other government agencies, teachers' unions, NGOs, international organi­zations and the children) of the Covenant on the Children's Education Agenda which bound all of them to commit to it.