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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider To solve PH educational crisis, DepEd must 'go directly to the root' of the problem

To solve PH educational crisis, DepEd must 'go directly to the root' of the problem

Published Aug 26, 2021 09:46 pm

(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN)

A Ramon Magsaysay awardee for education urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to address issues and concerns on the current curriculum in order to solve the educational crisis in the country.

“The Philippines is in a crisis. We cannot really afford to look at the leaves, branches and trunk --- we have to go direct to the root to solve the Philippine educational crisis,” said Dr. Christopher Bernido, 2010 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for education and the President of the Central Visayan Institute Foundation (CVIF), during the DepEd’s Educ Forum Series on Thursday, Aug. 26.

He and wife, Dr. Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido, are both world-renowned physicists. They won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for contributing in both science and nation by “ensuring innovative, low-cost, and effective basic education under Philippine conditions of scarcity and poverty.”

Intended curriculum as the ‘root of the problem’

Bernido pointed out some concerns on the current curriculum being used by schools under the K to 12 program which is the spiral progression curriculum.

Dr. Christopher Bernido during DepEd's Educ Forum Series on Aug. 26, 2021 (Screenshot from DepEd FB page)

“We can keep on tweaking a defective system, we can keep polishing a defective system but it will remain a defective system,” he said.

The results of the K to 12 Curriculum Review was the main topic for the pilot episode of the newly-launched Educ Forum Series.

It which aims to serve as a “platform to inform, discuss, and refine reform initiatives, and coordinate further action” related to the biggest challenge in education which is quality.

As explained by DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio, the K to 12 curriculum review is a “quality control mechanism that primarily examines the curriculum” in its various phases which include the Intended Curriculum, Implemented Curriculum, Assessed Curriculum and Achieved Curriculum.

“It’s clear that the intended curriculum is the foundation for all of these, Bernido said. “The only problem is if the intended curriculum is weak, it if is mediocre, you will be drawn into this whirlpool of mediocrity,” he added.

Bernido, who served as one of the reactors during virtual forum, also stressed that if the “original” or the foundation --- which is the Intended Curriculum --- is weak, “then maybe 10 years from now we will still be talking about the same problems in Philippine education.”

The CVIF, Bernido, said, has been looking at the Philippine education problem in the past 20 years. “We’re looking at the Filipino teacher inside a Filipino classroom in a Filipino environment,” he said.

Given this, Bernido shared that the Intended Curriculum is “very crucial” because the rest will follow. “If a person has cancer, you don’t cure it by putting band-aid, you go to the root of the problem,” he added.

Related Tags

diosdado san antonio curriculum deped education education crisis CHristopher Bernido quality
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