Buenavista Literacy rate improves to 97.15 percent

Based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH), 97.15% or 46,944 households population five years old and over in Buenavista, Guimaras were literate.

The literacy rate among females at 97.23% was slightly higher than males at 97.08%.

Based on the official concept used during the 2020 CPH, a person is literate if they can read and write a simple message in any language or dialect.

More females than males attain higher levels of education

Highest educational attainment was among the questions asked for all persons aged five years and over during the 2020 Census of Population and Housing. The result revealed more females (54.36%) than males (45.64%) among those with college or academic degrees. Likewise, college undergraduates are mostly female dominant, which sliced 52.87%, higher than their male counterparts by 5.74 percentage points with 47.13%.

Similarly, more females than males had completed post-baccalaureate courses, accounting for 66.48% and 33.52%, respectively. (Table 1)

Moreover, children enrolled in Special Needs Education (SPED)/Second-Chance Education for both elementary and secondary were male-dominated, more than doubling the number among high school children at 55 males and 25 females.

Of the 48,319 total school age children, 24.98% (12,070) had reached at most elementary level with 9.50% (4,589) successfully graduated while a large percentage of 15.46% or equivalent to 7,471 were undergraduate. Moreover, 37.38 percent (18,061) had reached high school or secondary level, but only 21.17% (10,230) had successfully completed or graduated, most females (50.35%), while 16.04% or 7,751 were undergraduate, most of them are males (55.36%).

On the other hand, 1,907 (3.95%) went to Short-Cycle Tertiary education, only 7, or 0.37%, were undergraduate, while 1,900 or 99.63% had fruitfully completed/graduated, 51.11% of them were males and 48.89% females.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) conducted the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH) in September 2020, with 01 May 2020 as reference date.

The population and housing censuses in the Philippines are conducted on a “de jure” basis, wherein a person is counted in the usual place of residence or the place where the person usually resides. The enumeration of the population an

Literacy and Highest Grade/Year Completed were asked for household members five years and over. To identify if the household members are literate or illiterate, the respondents were asked, “Can _____ read and write a simple message in any language or dialect?”

For Highest Grade/Year Completed, the respondents were asked “What is the highest grade/year completed by _________?”

Household population refers to all persons who are members of the household.

Sex is the biological and physiological reality of being a male or female.

Simple literacy is the ability of a person to read and write a simple message. As such, a person is said to be literate if he/she can both read and write a simple message in any language or dialect. A person who cannot read and write a simple message, such as “I CAN READ” is considered illiterate. Moreover, a person is still considered illiterate if he/she is capable of reading and writing only his/her own name or numbers. Similarly, a person is illiterate if he/she can read but not write or he/she can write but not read.

A person who knows how to read and write but at the time of the census can no longer read and/or write due to some physical defect or illness is still considered literate. Example of this is an aged person who knows how to read and write but can no longer perform these activities due to poor eyesight or hand injury. Persons with disability who can read and write through other means such as the use of Braille are considered literate.

Post-secondary education refers to education beyond high school, encompassing technical vocational training (TVET) and higher education, which are managed by TESDA and CHED, respectively.

Short-cycle tertiary education refers to programs below the bachelor's degree level, often vocational or technical, designed to equip students with practical skills and knowledge for immediate employment, and may also serve as a pathway to further tertiary studies. This level captures the lowest level of tertiary education which also includes advanced technical education and vocational training (TVET). Programs at this level are usually practically based, occupationally specific and prepare students to enter the labor market.

Highest grade/year completed refers to the highest grade or year completed in school, college, or university as of 01 May 2020. This may be any one of the specific grades or years in elementary, high school, K to 12 Program, and college. It may also be special needs education program, second chance education program, or any of the post-secondary, short-cycle tertiary, college, and post baccalaureate courses.

In 2011, the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented the K to 12 Program. Under this program, the education of a person starts in kindergarten, followed by an elementary education of six years from Grade 1 to Grade 6, junior high school education of four years from Grade 7 to Grade 10, and senior high school education of two years from Grade 11 to Grade 12.