Despite Bacolod’s aspirations to be a “super city” and its status as a hub for top-tier universities and colleges, recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) exposes a critical contradiction in its literacy profile.
According to the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), while the city boasts the highest basic literacy rate in the Negros Island Region (NIR) at an impressive 93.8%, it falls short in terms of functional literacy, indicating a struggle with practical comprehension and application of skills.
The report said that when it comes to functional literacy—the ability to apply reading, writing, numeracy, and comprehension to daily life—Bacolod’s rate for residents aged 5 and above drops to 77.7%.
This figure is notably lower than Siquijor province’s leading 80% functional literacy rate, with a basic literacy rate at 93.3%.
The PSA defines basic literacy as the fundamental capacity to read, write simple messages, and perform basic math.
Overall, NIR’s functional literacy only stands at 65.7% (about 7 out of 10 Filipinos aged 10 to 64) demonstrating the ability to apply these skills comprehensively. This represents about 2.3 million functionally literate individuals in the region.
This despite a picture of strong foundational literacy, with roughly 9 out of 10 Filipinos aged 5 and above (87%) possessing basic reading and writing abilities in the island.
The 2024 FLEMMS, conducted last October, serves as a crucial tool for assessing the nation’s literacy status, informing educational and training policies, and identifying gaps in information access, particularly in underserved communities.
