By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
To uplift the quality of education in the country, Education Secretary Leonor Briones pointed to the need for a stronger link between the pre-service and in-service of teachers.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones advocates for improved collaborative efforts within the Philippines’ trifocal education system to identify issues and streamline programs related to improving the state of Philippine education, during the Dekalogo public lecture series of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian at the Development Academy of the Philippines' (DAP). (Photo courtesy of DepEd/ MANILA BULLETIN)
In reference to students who take up education courses, pre-service refers to before they became classroom teachers, and in-service refers to those working as teachers.
“We should strengthen the link between the pre-service and the in-service of the teachers,” Briones said as one of the panelists in the Development Academy of the Philippines' (DAP) Dekalogo public lecture series of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.
Briones said one of the educational gaps was in the curriculum of teachers. She highlighted the need for DepEd to “know how universities and colleges train education majors.”
For Briones, there would be a smoother transition if DepEd knows how soon-to-be teachers are taught and trained in various Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs).
She pointed to the educational system of Singapore, where the Ministry of Education is the sole institution implementing teacher-training curriculum in pre-service and in-service.
Gatchalian agreed with Briones, pointing out the “disconnect” of producing the teachers and DepEd being the end-users.
“Right now, there is no physical connection between the producer and the end-user,” he said. “The coordination is quite hazy and not so clear the end user must have a large say in this.”
Focus on teacher development
Briones also said DepEd is focusing on the continuous upskilling and reskilling of teachers through the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP).
“Once teachers come in, we are responsible for their continuous training and education,” Briones said.
In January, Briones issued guidelines for NEAP recognition of professional development programs and courses for teachers and school leaders. The guidelines, she said, “ensure that all programs and courses, whether internally or externally provided, are aligned, integrated, and consistent” with the wider NEAP professional development framework.
Briones said the transformation of NEAP will greatly help towards the achievement of quality of education.
“We are going to change the content of the program of NEAP because if we want to transform the quality of learners, we have to transform NEAP,” she explained. “If we want to teach the learners new things, then the teachers will have to be the first to learn new manner of teaching.”
In an earlier statement, Briones noted the most crucial challenge in achieving quality education involves teachers.
“With fast-changing standards of education quality, our teachers must be able to constantly keep up with the times,” she said. “As I have said many times, the battle for quality basic education will be fought and won inside the classroom, by our teachers.”
Need for better collaboration
Meanwhile, Briones is also pushing for improved collaborative efforts within the Philippines’ trifocal education system.
Briones advocated more active dialogues with officials of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to identify issues and streamline programs related to improving the state of Philippine education.
The trifocal education system mandates DepEd to be responsible for basic education which covers elementary, secondary, and non-formal education, while CHED is in charge of higher education, and TESDA administers post-secondary and middle-level manpower training and development.