Education in crisis (1)

In the history of our country since the inception of the republic, no sweeping and far-reaching initiative has been made by any of the administrations that held court in the corridors of power to make education its centerpiece.

Education, it is said, is the great leveler of society. Acquisition of it makes the poorest of the poor stands equal with the richest of the rich. One who is equipped with it can pierce any social barrier. It is the tool that cloths the possessor with the intellectual armory to face demagogues and bigots, and the courage to accept challenges from cerebral pretenders clothed with hypocrisy. It is the engine that propels one to reach great heights of intellectual development, financial glory, and spiritual uplifting.

An educated citizenry elects equally educated, competent, and honest public officials, and reject buffoons, scoundrels, the incompetent, and the corrupt.

An educated population is the foundation of the country’s growth and development.

An uneducated citizenry constituting a majority causes a perennial state of disarray in a society.

The protection and the promotion of the right of all citizens to not just education but to quality education is guaranteed by our Constitution, to wit:

“SECTION 1. The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.”

The highest budgetary priority for education is also mandated by the Constitution, thus:

“5. The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.”

Those constitutional commands have been honored more in the breach than in obedience.

No wonder, our country has yet to attain the level of growth and development that our Asian neighboring countries have already achieved in such a short time.

The two highest officials of the land have both admitted that our educational system is a failure.

In his keynote speech at the presentation of the Basic Education Report 2023 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila in Pasay City, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., vowed to upgrade school infrastructure and invest in teachers’ upskilling programs.

He pledged to improve the state of the country’s basic education system, in addition to producing a competent workforce, after admitting that the government has failed the Filipino children, and it should not continue to fail them. He declared in the same forum: “I have previously mentioned that this administration will, at no point, scrimp on investment in our educational sector and in our young learners, and I am here today to reaffirm that commitment.”

The President explained that investment in education leads to a well-trained and highly experienced workforce, but he said there is a need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.

On the other hand, Vice President and concurrent Secretary of Education Sara Duterte, in her speech in the same forum, said the education system has failed. She said that the lack of school infrastructure and resources have caused that failure.

She cited startling figures not only on the lack of school buildings but that even those existing need repairs. Out of a total 327, 851 school buildings, only 104,536 could pass for “in good condition.”

The Department of Education inventory shows 100,072 school buildings in need of minor repairs while 89,252 buildings require major repairs. About 21,727 buildings are set for condemnation, which even put the school children’s and teachers’ safety in peril.

Admitting the

Filipino learners as not being academically proficient, VP

Sara said:

“Filipino learners are not academically proficient. Oftentimes, Filipino learners experience emotional abuse and exhaustion.

Some Filipino learners suffer from psychological fatigue — and being academically insecure, many of them may fail to meet the standards of the demanding and competitive world.”

“This is the truth. This is our future. But this is the future we can change. “

Saying that the crisis in education is a complex one, VP Sara analyzed that it is the conditions at home, in school, and in the communities that caused and aggravated our system of education.

The admission that our system of education is a failure by the President and Vice-President, no less, is a welcome development and a fresh wind that permeates the air of constant crisis in education.

“An educated citizenry elects equally educated, competent, and honest public officials, and reject buffoons, scoundrels, the incompetent, and the corrupt.

“VP Sara analyzed that it is the conditions at home, in school, and in the communities that caused and aggravated our system of education.

(To be continued)