The real score

Education leaders determine the real state of the country's education system and find solutions to these perennial problems... By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT July 15, 2011, 12:35pm MANILA, Philippines It's the same old story, year in and year out. That numerous studies show that the quality of education from the basic education to the tertiary level continues to deteriorate through the years; That poor results in the National Achievement Test (NAT) are a natural indicator of how elementary and high school students perform academically. That in the college level, the numbers of graduates without employment as well as the job mismatch indicate how tertiary education is faring these days. At the National Education Forum held in Makati Shangri-la Hotel last month, education leaders, lawmakers, business leaders and other stakeholders gathered in an effort to determine the real state of the countrys education system and to find solutions to perennial problems in basic and tertiary levels as well as in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The heads of the three lead agencies concerned with educationDepartment of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA)spearheaded the forum. The need to transform basic education Since he was appointed to the Department of Education, Secretary Armin Luistro has been changing the landscape of the basic education system with various private sector partnerships. Luistro is particularly keen on addressing the backlog in public schools and adding two more years in the basic education system. In the forum, Luistro reiterated the current administrations 10 point Basic Education Agenda which include 12-year Basic Education Cycle; Universal Kindergarten; Madaris Education; Technical Vocational High School; Every child a reader by Grade 1; Science and Math Proficiency; Government Assistance To Students And Teachers In Private Education (GASTPE); Medium of Instruction; Quality Textbooks and Covenant with local government units (LGUs). Through graphs, Luistro showed a downward trend which represents the achievement levels and survival rates of students. Data from DepEd showed a declining achievement level of elementary and high school students based on National Achievement Tests (NAT) results from 2005 to 2010. Addressing backlogs This school year, about 22 million students trooped to 59,045 public elementary and high schools nationwide. Based on DepEd 2010 inventory, elementary and public schools have 456,067 classrooms; 509, 637 teachers; 15, 960, 353 seats; and 316, 112 toilets. Translated, this means a classroom shortage of 66,800 and teacher shortage of 101, 612. Shortage in seats and toilets is at 2,573, 212 and 135, 847 respectively. Luistro said that the approved budget this year is P207.3 billion with18.4 percent increase from 2010 budget of P175 billion. A total of P11.3 billion will be allocated for at least 9,000 classrooms, seats, and sanitation facilities while P2.3 billion for creation of 10,000 teacher items, he explained. Luistro also believes that DepEds proposed model called K-6-4-2 which involves kindergarten, six years of elementary education, four years of junior high school or Grades seven to 10, and two years of senior high school or Grades 11 to 12 will help the quality of education in the country to be at par with global standards and to be able to produce employable high school graduates. Oversubscribed courses

CHEd Chairperson Patricia Licuanan also admitted that there is no denying deterioration in higher education. This, she explained, can be attributed to the critical areas of concern including the lack of overall vision, framework, and plan for higher education; and the limited access to quality higher education. Licuanan said the skills and jobs mismatch greatly contributes to the large unemployment and underemployment rate in the country, Jobs in mining, aeronautics, geology, and software engineering are very hard to fill up, she said. Meanwhile, the skills needed by the industry but not adequately provided by academe are in communication, technical skills, and numerical skills, she added. Licuanan discouraged incoming college students to take up courses which have been deemed oversubscribed by CHEd including Business Administration, Nursing, Teacher Education, Information Technology, Hotel and Restaurant Management, and Maritime. Instead, they should try enrolling in CHEd priority and undersubscribed programs including Science and Technology and Agriculture and Fisheries, she said. To address the deteriorating quality of higher education, Licuanan said theres a great need to rationalize higher education, improve quality and standards and increase access to quality higher education. To increase the access to quality education, Licuanan said that theres a need to expand the Comprehensive Student Financial Assistance Program (STUFAP) including scholarships, grant-in-aid and the Study Now Pay Later Plan. We should also focus on non-conventional higher education through the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) and Ladderized Education Program (LEP), she said. Tech-voc as a viable option With almost 300 private colleges and universities increasing tuition, TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva urged students as well as those who cannot afford the increase in tuition to consider technical and vocational training as an option. In the first quarter of 2011, TESDA data showed that 19,893 students completed courses at the 126 technology institutions directly managed by TESDA. A total of 24,579 TVET programs in different qualifications are now registered with TESDA nationwide. We are targeting to have at least 1,000 graduates for each TTI or a total of 125,000 graduates per year, Villanueva said. This, he added, is apart from its scholars under the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) and those scholarships funded by the private sector. Villanueva also cited two of major reforms that the agency undertook to strengthen the TVET sector, namely, the Competency-Based TVET Delivery-System and the Philippine TVET Qualifications Framework (PTQF). Likewise, TESDA has also put in place a system requiring that its graduates undergo assessment to get a certificate of competency in the same manner that the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) issues licenses for professionals. Faced with global and domestic challenges and changing economic environment as well as skills development issues and concerns, our TVET system shall be directed towards the development of the skilled Filipino work force that meets the requirements of the 21st century, Villanueva ended.

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