Something good happening in Philippine basic education

THE Department of Education (DepEd) un der the leadership of Secretary Leonor M. Briones is positive that something good is still happening, especially when it comes to the government’s efforts to uplift the quality of basic education in the country. This is amid the challenges that confront the Philippine education system brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Secretary Briones mentioned the performance of some Philippine schools in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) where Pasig City Science High School (PCSHS) and the Regional Science High School for Region 6 (RSHS6) were identified as top performers in 2018 Pisa.

According to the DepEd chief, it was never mentioned that we have these schools which have achieved very high-performance rating on a global scale. The secretary believes that there must be something good happening in Philippine education and that something good has to be shared.

Including the two schools mentioned, Briones said that there were a total of the top 20 schools which have achieved very high performance in the 2018 Pisa so she is asking the teachers, the school heads of said schools on what lessons they can impart.

The DepEd mentioned that as the Philippines prepares to join the Pisa in 2022, the schools shared best practices in their commitment to delivering quality education. In their sharing, PCSHS and RSHS-6 believe that the country’s preparation in the next round of Pisa in 2022 will serve as an “investment of education” for the future generation.

The report written by Merlina HernandoMalipot and was published in the Manila Bulletin said that the representatives of the two schools pointed out mentoring and teacher empowerment as two key factors in their outstanding performance during the Pisa 2018.

PCSHS Principal Charlie Fabaer showcased the role of teachers in adopting a student-centric and ICT-enhanced pedagogy that encourages deep learning, critical thinking, and creativity. He noted that their school’s approach creates a playground of creative thinking and holistic development for learners, thus, boosting exposure to national and international mathematics competitions and scientific projects.

Fabaer emphasized that while their school is student-centric, we are also giving primary importance to their teacher.

Further, it was known that the school uses InService Training and Learning Action Cell (LAC) sessions as its primary actions in enhancing their content knowledge and pedagogy, including classroom management and other aspects of teacher quality.

Fabaer further said that during these professional development sessions, they are (allowed) to share their best practices and talk about the things that are working inside the classroom and the school involve them in their planning activities so that they would feel that they are empowered.

Meanwhile, Briones also praised the DepEd Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) for scoring the highest in reading literacy results in Pisa 2018 as well as the Baguio City National High School (BCNHS).

The secretary believes that while the 2018 Pisa showed that “dismal ranking” of the Philippines in some key areas, the practices of schools will greatly contribute to the national effort in raising the country’s quality of education.