EDUCATION GAINS AND CHALLENGES

The Philippine Star
01/30/09

If the education department’s year-end report is any indication, then it can be said that the state of education in the country is relatively doing well due to the incremental gains posted in terms of student achievement and proficiency exams, infrastructure and equipment procurement and development.

But the battle to salvage the education sector and bring it back to world class status has just barely begun. Hitches here and there need to be addressed more promptly by our education leaders before these do more harm and wipe away the gains, incremental as they are, that were achieved last year.

Obstacles to overcome

Still the biggest obstacle to education, as it has been for many years now, is the relatively meager budget that the government allocates annually. Our more progressive ASEAN neighbors spend more for education and are reaping the benefits of a strong and efficient basic education system.

Compounding this, the already meager resources are wasted away through the procurement of textbooks laden with mind-boggling, shocking factual and grammatical errors and interpretations.

nd then there are the poorly-trained but duly licensed teachers who spread ignorance to their unwitting students, as well as the proliferation of college diploma mills that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) seems powerless to regulate.

Competency-based learning

Thousands upon thousands graduate from college each year and enter the workforce, with not a few ending up nowhere due to lack of skills in their chosen professions or because they are not equipped with the knowledge sought by employers.

Hence, seasoned educators are batting for more tertiary education institutions to adopt competency-based curriculum to match the needs of the job market with what the students are taught in college.

In response, DepEd is introducing vocational and technical subjects in the curriculum of 261 public secondary schools to expose future college students to technical or vocational courses in college.

With the skills acquired under the program, students from the pilot 261 schools who are technically inclined may choose to work on the knowledge acquired and pursue the same in college or vocational schools including TESDA.

Among the areas covered by the vocational-technical training course in high school are automotive, consumer electronics, machine work, plumbing, personal computer hardware servicing, computer-aided designing, food processing, agriculture and aquaculture. As such, high school graduates are made aware of other possible career paths to take, which they may not have known to exist.

A more effective CHED

A report by the Asian Development Bank stated that due to the increase in demand for tertiary level education, this has spawned or led to the establishment of many colleges offering inferior education for the sake of profit. Diploma mills, we call it. And CHED has been ineffective in eliminating these entities that continue to suck parents’ hard earned money.

The ADB report also stressed that “the shortage of skilled workforce in the Asia-Pacific region has been a major bottleneck in economic and social development.”

CHED must show its concern regarding these issues by mandating colleges and universities to link up with business and industry and find out what competencies, skills and knowledge they require, which can then be taught to college students.

Financial literacy

Noteworthy last year was the overwhelming private sector support in raising the quality of Philippine education or even in providing basic learning materials, i.e., pencils, crayons and drawing paper, to poor students mainly in the rural areas.

Lately, DepEd also drew praise for launching some programs that would essentially backstop the students’ academic achievement through the introduction into the curriculum of such overlooked but quintessential topics as punctuality, stock market awareness and financial literacy, while some public schools, in coordination with local government units, are introducing chess in PE classes.

One of the initiatives introduced last year worthy of mention is the tie-up between DepEd and the Philippine Stock Exchange to include stock market awareness and financial literacy in the economic curriculum of high school students.

“Estudyantipid” was launched to simplify what to students appear to be the complicated world of stock markets, finances and economic progress. Because the country has a low rate of savings, teaching young students the value of saving and wise spending, project proponents said, could help shore up the local economy.

Lapus pointed out that the program will expose students to ways of saving and investing money, the concept of interest and inflation and counteract the prevailing consumer attitude on spending. Teachers will also be oriented and trained for the program to make them more effective in teaching the ins and outs of financial literacy.

What’s in store?

DepEd has listed eight priority thrusts for this year generally aimed at improving enrolment rates, teachers’ qualification and further addressing the shortage of learning resources. It is also looking to expand opportunities for pre-school education.

Raising the proficiency level of students, health and nutrition condition of students, providing new resources for learning, and strengthening partnerships with the private sector are also listed as priority thrusts of the education department.

The fate of millions of students, even their parents and the public, are all dependent on how quickly the DepEd can deliver on its promises and on what it has been mandated to do.

Only with an effective, efficiently managed, innovative and updated basic education system can we bolster the country’s bid for a better, stronger future.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, SalcedoVillage, 1227 MakatiCity. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.