Ateneo Social Science Research Center
Bicol Social and Economic Monitor
♣Bicol Education and Literacy Monitor
♣Bicol Health and Nutrition Monitor
♣Bicol Population Growth Monitor
♣Bicol Income and Poverty Monitor
♣Bicol Labor and Employment Monitor
Simple and functional literacy rates improve
Simple literacy rate (SLR) in the Bicol region increased from 87.3 percent in 1989 to 94.9 percent in 1994. The SLR in 1994 means that 9 out of 10 Bicolano aged 10 and above can read and write in simple language or dialect. Functional literacy rate (FLR) also rose from 68.8 percent to 82.8 percent during the same period. A comparison of the SLR and FLR in 1994 shows that 1 out of 9 Bicolanos who can read and write (simple literate) cannot compute or is deficient in numeracy skills (functionally illiterate) (Table 1).
Functional literacy highest in Camarines Norte, least in Masbate
In 1994, among the six provinces in the Bicol region, FLR was highest in Camarines Norte with 90.0 percent, followed by Catanduanes with 87.4 percent. Masbate, on the other hand, registered the lowest FLR, following Sorsogon at 75.2 percent and 79.4 percent, respectively (Table 2).
Urban-rural gap in functional literacy closing
The FLR in 1994 was higher among urban dwellers at 86.8 percent as compared to 80.9 percent among those living in rural areas. However, between 1989 and 1994, FLR rose more rapidly in rural areas at 26.2 percent compared to only 7.2 percent in urban areas. This closed the urban-rural disparity in FLR from 16.9 percentage points in 1989 to 5.9 percentage points in 1994.
Women dominate men in functional literacy
In 1994, the 84.5 percent FLR among women was 3.3 percentage points higher than the 81.2 percent FLR among male population in Bicol. This pattern is prevalent in most provinces in the region except in Catanduanes where men slightly edged up their female counterpart by 0.7 percentage points. The highest FLR gap that favored women was in Masbate at 6.4 percentage points.
FLR among women in 1994 was highest in Camarines Norte (92.9 percent) followed by Catanduanes (86.7 percent). Female FLR, on the other hand, was least in Masbate at 78.5 percent.
Sources:National Statistics Office (NSO)
National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) - RU 5