Geographies of social exclusion: education access in the Philippines.

Despite the massive education sector of the country, the Philippines – being located in the Pacific Ring of Fire and the typhoon belt – is home to a number of natural instabilities that frequently disrupt the school calendar. Conflict areas in selected parts of the island of Mindanao and the remote geographic features of the country also pose problems in education access. Poverty incidence is reported to be high in such locations and access to basic services such as education is exceedingly low as compared to mainstream Manila. Given the geographies of social exclusion, particularly in education, as exemplified by such issues, this article will detail the problems in education access in the Philippines as illustrated through: (a) the remote geographic locations of some parts of the country; (b) the devastations brought to schooling by natural disasters; and (c) the ‘geography of conflict’ in Mindanao. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]