CURRENT ISSUES ON PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

JULIUS N. LEONEN @JLEONENINQ
INQUIRER.NET
 At the “2018 Balik Eskwela” event at the Quezon City High School in
Kamuning, Briones urged students to take the learning process outside
educational institutions.
 Students should look beyond their class textbooks, their computers, and
the four walls of their classrooms to discover the meaning of life.
 This was the wisdom that Education Secretary Leonor Briones imparted
to 27 million students across the country on the first day of classes in the
new school year.
 “It always helps to study beyond what your teachers teach you, beyond
what your books teach you, beyond what your laptops, what your
computers teach you,” Briones said.

REYNALDO C. LUGTU, JR.
 The first supply of K-12 graduates numbering more than 1.2 million
did not make the full cut.
 Only 20 percent of the country’s 70 leading companies across all
sectors were inclined to hire senior high graduates, according to a
study by the Philippine Business for Education (PBED).
 The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said in a
recent TV interview that ‘K-12 graduates are not yet ready for work’
and they lack the knowledge and skills for the 21st century such as
‘innovation and critical thinking’ skills. PCCI added that the current
education system still needs a lot of help and improvement.

 Despite the K-12 Law and the other educational reforms such as the
Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education
(UniFAST) Law and the Free Higher Education Law, the Philippines
continues to get poor marks in international education performance
indices.
 According to the Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 released
by the World Economic Forum.
Our country ranked 66th out of 137 countries for quality of primary
education,
74th for quality of higher education,
 76th for quality of math and science education,
 Our educational system did even worse on the 2017 Global
Innovation Index where it ranked poorly at 113th place out of 127
countries.

 Public school system needs reforms in terms of policy, pedagogy,
infrastructure and educational technology to prepare the country’s
future workforce for the 4th Industrial revolution.
POLICY
Teacher’s Salary
Corruption allegations on Department of Education (DepEd)
PEDAGOGY
Problem stems from the memorization methods of schools which are
present in both the private and public educational systems.
Our education system needs to develop teachers that employ
reflective teaching that allows students to raise questions, explore
possibilities and scenarios and engage in substantive discussions
and debate.

Personalized and individualized learning is an emerging methodology
which considers the different learning styles of students, thus maximizing
the learning outcome. First world nations are already using this
technology – a far cry from the state of education in our country. But this
should be our education authorities’ target in the coming decade.
 INFRASTRUCTURE AND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Building of important classrooms is on-going to narrow the 113,000
shortage as of June 2017, according to the Alliance of Concerned
Teachers Philippines.
Equally urgent is to address the internet connectivity for public
schools. Out of the 46,739 public schools nationwide, only about
12,163 or a mere 26% are connected, a DepEd report said. Most of
these are off-grid areas or those unserved by telecommunication
companies (Telco) where internet subscription is impossible.
Internet connectivity is a key enabler to transform our education
system. E-learning platforms and content can empower teachers and
students alike for a blended and personalized learning.

JHESSET O. ENANO @JHESSETENANOINQ
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
 The Department of Education (DepEd) wants to add good manners,
right conduct and proper values to students’ learning as it sets a
review of the 2-year-old curriculums in all grade levels under the K-
12 program.
 Noting it was “high time” the review was done, Education Secretary
Leonor Briones said the DepEd wanted to strengthen “basic skills”
in early grade levels, focusing particularly on the first three levels of
basic education: kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2.
 “In the first three years, there are not so many subjects, [but there
should be lessons in] good manners and right conduct,” Briones said
in a press briefing at the DepEd central office in Pasig City last
week.

Demands of society’
 Briones said the proposed changes were also a response to the
“demands of society,” where children were often more exposed to
different environments and technologies that could influence their
behavior.
 When a 5-year-old child goes into kindergarten, she said, other
institutions, such as the family and the Church, had already shaped
the child’s attitudes.
 “I’m not saying that the youth’s values are failing, but the world is
changing. The values of our society and of the grown-ups are also
changing,” Briones said.
 “As we prepare our learners to be grown-ups, they can contribute to
shaping such values because eventually, they too will become
leaders,” she added.
 Focusing on basic numeracy and reading skills are also important
even at a young age, as these are the basis for “lifelong learning,”
she said.
 “We need to teach our children to be more analytical, to think more
in terms of problem solving,” she said.

INQUIRER.NET
 Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the Department of
Education (DepEd) would review the K-to-12 curriculum after two
years of implementation.
 “We are going to have a thorough review of the curriculum of the
Department of Education (DepEd) after we have been there for two
years already, so we have made enough experience,” Briones said in
a Palace briefing.
 “We will review the curriculum from Kindergarten to Grade 12
because we have been getting feedback as well and we are
welcoming feedback from the public about the curriculum content,”
she added.
 Briones cited how education had focused on the demand for students
to be taught good English following the boom of call centers, which
was believed to give employment to many graduates.

 Call centers are now replaced by robots in other countries,” she said.
“So, if you are preparing our children to speak beautiful English for
call centers then perhaps we will truly be left behind. We have to
teach our children to be the ones to make the robots and this is why
we are teaching robotics in the high schools.”
 She said that students now should be taught how to respond and
adapt to change, stressing the importance of learning skills that
students could apply after graduation.
 “We teach them how to analyze, how to solve problems, how to
respond to change and to accept change because by the time they
graduate, whatever we have taught them, not all of them, will be
applicable – because change is happening so fast,” she said.
 “It is in dealing with the change that we want our children to gain
more, ‘yung tawag natin life skills,” Briones added.

VINCE F. NONATO @VINCENONATOINQ
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out the Department of
Education over various “setbacks” in the implementation of the
P20.14-billion public-private partnership projects meant to address
the shortage in public school classrooms.
 The COA also found that an astounding 99 percent of the beneficiary
schools under the DepEd Computerization Program had not received
the information and communications technology packages.
 A total of 1,327, or 30 percent, of the 4,371 classrooms under PSIP II
are still awaiting completion after more than two years of
implementation.
 “Based on standard time, an ordinary construction with 12
classrooms should have been completed within six months,” read the
audit report.

 The COA reported that only 436 of the 77,704 target schools had
benefited so far from the Computerization Program from 2015 to
2017.
 All 436 were covered by Batch 33 of the program for senior high
schools in 2015, which actually targeted a total of 991 schools.
 The P2.06 billion budget for the 17,016 schools that should have
benefited from the program in 2015 was transferred in 2016 to the
Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service,
which specializes the procurement of technical equipment.
 Still, no deliveries were made as of the end of 2017. This prompted
the COA to ask the DepEd to prod the DBM-PS regarding the
unutilized funds.
 The contracts for the ICT packages for 11,070 schools in 2015, 5,151
in 2016 and 44,417 in 2017 were already awarded and were
scheduled to be delivered before June 2018.
 Besides the aforementioned projects, the COA also called on the
DepEd to conduct an investigation on the loss of P25.21-million
worth of learning materials caused by insufficient warehousing
facilities.

 This was after finding that 820,682 learning materials for second
grade students were damaged at the warehouse of supplier Lexicon
Press, Inc., due to defects in the gutter and downspouts that caused
flooding.
 The loss of the said materials was partly blamed on the DepEd’s lack
of its own storage facilities, due to the delay in the procurement of
forwarding services and the refurbishment of its warehouse.
 Although the materials were expected to be delivered on Nov. 30,
2015, the forwarding services only started on March 31, 2016, and
the refurbishment of the warehouse was contracted only in May
2016.
 Because of these issues, the learning materials remained and
eventually got damaged inside Lexicon’s warehouse.

CARLO JACOB MOLINA @CARLOMOLINAINQ
INQUIRER.NET
 The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said it has
reduced the paperwork for teachers to help them “focus more on
teaching.” From 36 school forms, they need to fill out only 10.
 In a statement, the DepEd also said it has streamlined processes
like minimizing duplication of data and lessening the time and effort
spent by teachers on work preparation.
 The decision was made after the department conducted
consultations with field representatives, teachers, school heads, and
regional supervisors. It said the goal was “not to eliminate reporting
entirely” but to ensure that data collected are “not compromised”
and are important to the proper assessment, planning, and
allocation of resources.

 “Two phases of DepEd’s review comprise of the creation of simplified
school forms, standardization of format, updating and reduction of
data needed in existing school forms, and making the most of the
available technology and information system,” it said.
 “As a result, the Department has reduced 36 common school forms
to 10 official school forms, which already include forms for Senior
High School, and has streamlined processes – minimizing
duplication and redundancy of data, and diminishing time and effort
spent by teachers on work preparations,” it added.

JOVIC YEE @JOVICYEEINQ
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones (fourth from left) and other education officials
attended the hearing on her department’s budget for 2019 at the Senate Sub-
Committee on Education on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. (Photo from the DepEd
Tayo Facebook page)
 Education Secretary Leonor Briones stressed on Wednesday that the workload
in her department should not be blamed for the recent reported cases of suicide
among teachers.
 She said the Department of Education (DepEd) felt “very badly” for the loss of
these young teachers. But she said these deaths should not be attributed to
their supposedly heavy workloads.
 For one, she noted that the circumstances behind the recent deaths of the three
teachers were “very different from each other.”

 “We can’t comment on whether a lesson plan causes suicide,” Briones
said on the sidelines of deliberations for the DepEd budget at the
Senate. “We can’t say that professionally. We can’t give an opinion and
draw a conclusion that work in DepEd drives a person [to take his or
her life].”
 Teachers Dignity Coalition and Alliance Concerned Teachers blamed
DepEd for the death of the three teachers, as they pointed out that they
were reportedly burdened by a heavy workload.
 The Youth for Mental Health Coalition (Y4MH) pointed out on
Wednesday that it was “irresponsible” for any individual or group to
attribute suicides to a specific cause.
 “Some negative life events may be triggering factors. But underlying
social and psychological factors also come into play,” Y4MH chair Dr.
Raymond John Naguit told the Inquirer. “Some behaviors such as
substance abuse and alcoholism increase impulsiveness which may also
contribute to suicide risk.”

 Briones said DepEd had started closely working with the Department of
Health (DOH) to help address the mental health needs of their more than
800,000 teachers nationwide.
 Earlier, the DOH urged the public, especially those who might have
mental health issues, to contact the 24/7 Hopeline to either help them
unburden their emotional baggage or to seek professional help.
 Hopeline can be reached via telephone number (02) 8044673, mobile
phone number 0917 558 4673 or toll-free 2919 for Globe and TM
subscribers.

DAPHNE GALVEZ @DYGALVEZINQ
INQUIRER.NET School buildings should no longer be used as evacuation centers to avoid
the disruption of classes, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary
Leonor Briones said Monday.
 Briones noted that no less than President Rodrigo Duterte has spoken
about a policy that a school building should not be used as evacuation
centers except in extreme cases when an area does not have structures
that are capable to weather storms such as gyms or multi-purpose
centers.

 “I have brought up in the Cabinet and the President has enunciated a policy
that a school building should not be used anymore as evacuation centers
because the children give up their homes, in a manner of speaking, that are
sturdy and then they have to put up with temporary learning centers like
tents and so on and they are exposed to all sorts of risks including
harassment,” Briones said in an interview with ANC.
 Briones also said it takes time before classes can resume after disasters
strike when schools were used as evacuation centers because the DepEd has
to conduct cleaning and repairs first.
 “It’s not as if after the tragedy the children automatically go back to the
classrooms. You have to do a lot of cleaning up and repairs; the chairs, the
facilities lahat-lahat (everything) because different kinds of people are using
the school,” she said.
 The DepEd chief then emphasized that school buildings are not really built
for evacuation which makes it difficult for the government to conduct repairs
and maintenance when natural disasters strike.

CATHRINE GONZALES @CGONZALESINQ
INQUIRER.NET Senator Sonny Angara is urging the Senate to look into the recent cases of suicides by
public school teachers.
 Angara, in a statement on Friday, said he has filed Senate Resolution No. 914, “in time
for the celebration of World Teachers’ Day.”The probe, he said, aims to determine
whether the suicides were indeed caused by heavy teacher workload as claimed by a
group pushing for teachers’ rights and welfare.
 It also aims to come up with measures that would address the lack of qualified mental
health professionals in the public education system, the senator added.
 In seeking the probe, Angara particularly cited the case of a newly-hired teacher from
La Paz, Leyte, who hanged himself last July, and another young teacher from Bacoor
City, Cavite, who also committed suicide a month after.
 Accounts from the teachers’ colleagues and comments of their friends in social media
reveal that one of the factors that could be related to their suicide was the workload
given to them, Angara said.

 The senator also lamented the shortage of registered guidance counselors in
public schools.
 He also said that under the standards of the Department of Education
(DepEd), public and private elementary and high schools should have one
guidance counselor for every 500 students.
 “Current conditions with regard to the availability of guidance counselors
in public schools make it harder for our teachers to seek professional help
especially since these guidance counselors often care only to students,” he
said.
 Meanwhile, Angara added that higher salaries for teachers is part of
improving their working conditions.
 He said he also filed Senate Bill No. 135 to upgrade the minimum salary
grade level of public school teachers from salary grade 11 to 19, which will
double their monthly pay from P20,179 to P42,099.

TETCH TORRES-TUPAS @T2TUPASINQINQUIRER.NET
 The government’s K-12 program will push through after the Supreme Court declared as
constitutional Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.
 Under RA 10533, the number of years of basic education was increased to include a year
of kindergarten, six years of elementary education and six years of secondary education–
four years junior high school and two years of senior high school.
 Also declared legal is Republic Act 10157 or the Kindergarten Education Act that
institutionalized kindergarten as part of the basic education and a mandatory
requirement to be able to enter Grade 1.
 The High Court dismissed all the petitions filed against the said laws for their failure to
prove that the laws were in violation of the 1987 Constitution and that the laws were
enacted with grave abuse of discretion.

 “For having failed to show any of the above in the passage of the assailed
law and the department issuances, the petitioners’ remedy thus lies not
with the Court but with the executive and legislative branches of the
government,” the High Court said in the 94-page decision penned by
Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.
Kindergarten and Senior High School
 The Supreme Court said no constitutional provision has been violated when
Congress made kindergarten and senior high school compulsory because it
only provided the minimum standard and that is “elementary education be
compulsory.”
 The high court even lauded Congress for enacting the K-12 law.
 “It is indeed laudable that Congress went beyond the minimum standards
and provided mechanism so that its citizens are able to obtain not just
elementary education but also kindergarten and high school.”

Limitation in selecting a course
 Petitioners said that the additional two years in high school will affect
400,000 to 500,000 Grade 11 students because they will be forced to enrol in
private schools that could displace some or more of the students.
 But the high court said the allegations of the petitioners are bare.
 Under the senior high school curriculum, students can choose among four
strands: 1. Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM) strand; 2.
Science and Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand; 3.
Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Strand and 4. General Academic
(GA) Strand.
 The high court took note of the government’s preparedness in helping junior
high school students continue to senior high school through the voucher
program.

On labor and consultations
 Petitioners which Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and ACT Teachers
party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio also argued that the law was passed
without public consultations considering that it will mostly affect
the lower income Filipinos.
 But the high court pointed out that the DepEd conducted regional
consultations through Memorandum Nos. 38 and 98 to elicit
opinions about the program. It added that Congress itself conducted
regional public hearings from 2011 to 2012 which was participated
by representatives from parents-teachers organizations, business,
public and private schools and local government units.
 The high court added that absence of a labor provision in the K-12
law does not make it incomplete because it has been delegated to
administrative agencies “to implement the broad policies laid down
in a statute by filling in the details which the Congress may not
have the opportunity or competence to provide.”

Policy issues
 Petitioners also told the high court that instead of implementing the K-12
program, the government should instead prioritize the lack of educators,
facilities and materials for students, funding for senior high schools, an
ideal student-teacher ratio and salaries of teachers.
 But the high court said policy matters are not their concern.
 “Government policy is within the exclusive dominion of the political
branches of the government. It is not for the Court to look into the wisdom
or propriety of legislative determination,” the high court said.
 Ten Justices concurred with Justice Caguioa including then Chief Justice
Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.
 On the other hand, Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin, Alexander
Gesmundo are on official business while Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr. is
on wellness leave.

CURRENT ISSUES ON PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

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