An advocacy group on Thursday, Nov. 4, pointed out positive developments in the the education sector this year in spite of the “learning crisis” in the country.
The Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), during an online presser, explained that in January this year, its started using the term “learning crisis” to describe the poor performance of Filipino students in various international student assessments.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/serious-crisis-group-urges-govt-other-sectors-to-address-devastating-state-of-ph-education/
From there on, various personalities in business, education, and politics have used the same.
For PBEd, this description puts the sense of urgency and enormity of the problem.
While it underscored the need to address the gaps in learning outcomes of students, PBEd noted that there have been positive developments in education in 2021.
In particular, PBEd noted that the enrollment rate in basic education this year has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Based on the data of the Department of Education (DepEd), there are over 27 million learners enrolled in basic education.
Aside from this, PBEd also welcomed the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes to start this month.
“PBEd has been calling for face-to-face classes even during the start of the pandemic for low-risk areas,” said PBEd President Chito Salazar. “Even before pandemic, we are already far behind in education, how much more that we have non face-to-face classes,” he added.
Pilot face-to-face classes are scheduled to start in 100 public schools on Nov. 15. A week after, 20 private schools are also expected to participate in the pilot study.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/11/03/sneak-peek-this-is-how-schools-will-look-like-during-pilot-face-to-face-classes/
DepEd said that some International Schools will also be allowed to hold limited face-to-face classes after getting the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
Additionally, PBEd said that the Education Commission (EDCOM) Bill - which has finally reached Congress’ Plenary --- is also a welcome development.
“We are in a learning crisis unlike any other,” said PBEd Executive Director Love Basillote.
Citing National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), PBEd noted the “partial” economic loss of P11 trillion in reduction of future wages and productivity.
“I say partial because that only accounts for zero face-to-face classes in 2020 and 2021,” Basillote said.
She also underscored the need for President Duterte to certify as “urgent” the EDCOM Bill because “this will signal that the government is serious in addressing the learning crisis.”
The EDCOM Bill seeks to create a non-permanent body that will review the current education sector and recommend reforms.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/27/convening-new-edcom-a-critical-immediate-response-to-learning-crisis-in-ph-pbed/