RP Education going, going...

It was the Department of Education that first raised the alarm in 2006 that the quality of education in the country had sunk to its lowest level, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said.

“The problem is systemic. .The entire system is [seriously affected],” said the DepEd chief, reacting to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s admission that the state of education continued to worsen during a consultative meeting in Baguio City.

...

The issues confronting us are the [result] of decades of under-investment, understatement ... English has had to take a back seat. The reading skills also suffered with many Grade 6 students unable to read,” he said. - The Inquirer

The failure of our educational system hinges on a generally “damaged culture” that trickles down to school culture as evidenced by the continuing bureaucracy and perpetuation of survival behaviors rather than innovative ideas, along with poverty, corruption, neo-colonialism, capitalist economy, obsolete curriculum among others.

Consider this: Of the elementary school teachers tested for English proficiency in the school year 2006-2007 by the DepEd, only 60 percent passed.

The secondary education teachers fared worse -- only 20 percent passed, 70 percent were below the desired proficiency and 10 percent failed the test.

Whenever I read articles about the worsening condition of the educational system, I cringe in fear. I fear for my children. What kind of teachers do we have in our academe nowadays?

How can schools alleviate the debilitating condition of the educational system and contribute in effecting reforms in achieving educational progress?

First, we must recognize the inequality in educational opportunities. The present setting wherein the marginalized class is prejudiced from quality education should be stopped. Given the fact that private schools provide better education as compared with public schools, the government should address these problems by creating a “Centers of Excellence” whose main thrust is to upgrade the quality of teachers and provide continuing education to upgrade their capabilities.

Second, the educational system should be restructured to recognize the co-existence of formal and non-formal education. Formal education should focus on functional literacy, creative thinking and generating knowledge thereby creating a pool of talents that are highly competent in specialized skills. The non-formal education on the other hand, should be developed in such a fashion that would teach specific skills needed for gainful employment for the underprivileged sector of the society. Further, secondary education should be restructured to make it both terminal and preparatory in order to allow the graduates to join the workforce right away or proceed to college. The government should continue to provide financial assistance to well-deserving students but are incapable of sustaining their education due to poverty.

Third, the government should promote the national language as a medium if the instruction will be instrumental in fostering unity and a sense of national identity in our students. I believe that we must first learn and master our native language before we proceed in learning a foreign language. Math and science should still be taught in English because it is through this language that we are able to understand these subjects meaningfully.

Two years ago in my education class, we try to uplift each others spirits by believing that pulling the Philippine educational system out of its dismal state is still viable. On the contrary, seeing is believing. Tsk.