AQUINO, Dominique Z.

BS Biology 3

January 28, 2015

The largest bilateral grant aid donor to the Philippines is Australia. Australia is one of the
United Nation's major bilateral rules of law assistance providers as reported by the International
Development Statistics of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Bilateral donors are members of the United Nations that provide developmental assistance
directly to recipient countries. Bilateral donors provide assistance in, among others, judicial and
legal development, human rights, post-conflict peace building, and security system
management and reform. This kind of bilateral assistance depends on the donor; this can come
from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs or its equivalent, the national
development agency, or the Ministry of Justice. It may also be a combination thereof.
Australia's aid program works toward the over-arching objective of promoting prosperity,
reducing poverty, and enhancing political stability in the Philippines. These are closely aligned
with the priorities of the Philippine Government, and also focus on: partnering on educational
reforms, enhancing the foundations for sustained economic growth, promoting better disaster
preparedness and response, improving conditions for peace and security, and building stronger
institutions for transparent and accountable governance. The aid program continues to catalyze
reforms, aid policy formulation, and support the Philippine Government's development agenda
as evidenced by the immediate and effective response to the Super Typhoon Haiyan in
November 2013. And the building of 1,540 classrooms and early learning centers are also an
evidence of their support. The Philippines continues the positive economic trend, but the one of
the key challenge is to ensure that the benefits of this economic growth are also shared with the
whole population of the country.
As part of Australia's aid program, education is one of the priorities. Australia is working
with the Philippine Government and business organizations to implement reforms and provide
additional classrooms for overcrowded schools. They also are implementing the new Basic
Education Sector Transformation (BEST). This will improve the quality of education through
better trained teachers and also an improved school curriculum. Australia also provides a
comprehensive program that aims to reduce the gap in school participation and learning
achievement in Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. In addition to the educational
program is the addition of three years to the mandatory schooling which are kindergarten, and
grades 11 and 12. This is done to bring the education system up to international standards. The

change in curriculum is critical to increase Filipino graduates' competitiveness as the

Philippines prepare for the ASEAN economic integrations in 2015. As a part of the educational
reform plan, roads are to be built to improve the access of the school to the children, especially
to the economically disadvantaged communities, including the conflict-affected areas of the
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Transportation has been a problem for school goers
in rural areas up until now. It is a problem for a long time, and it is still yet to be solved. Since
schools are far away from the houses of the children, needs such roads for easier transportation.
The children, due to the lack of transportation in the rural areas, are walking for hours before
the school starts to get to their classes on time. They endure rain and even the cold air from
their walk to attend class. Children are prone to illness because of them being soaked and cold
trekking to school, especially on the rainy season. By providing roads for easier access of
schools, it is expected that students will have a more convenient route to go to school. Roads
meant that transportation will be easier for students to go to school and back without walking
for hours on a dangerous trail. It will also mean that more children can go to school, especially
the younger ones since there is transportation. Children will be less prone to the elements
because of the transportation that will take the children to school and back to their houses.
Another aid program by Australia is encouraging gender consideration. Attention to gender
is essential if shared equally to both men and women of the society. There should be no stigma
between males and females when it comes to development. Both must equally enjoy the
development of the country. They are also encouraged to contribute to the welfare of the
country, since it is right for every member of the community. Everyone is also encouraged to
enhance the economic growth of the country. In general there should be equality between both
genders in all aspects of the development of the country. Gender consideration will be applied
more consistently through the entire aid program.