President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wants the Department of Education (DepEd) to focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to keep up with technological advancements.
In his vlog uploaded on June 4, Marcos Jr. lamented how the quality of education in the Philippines is lagging when it comes to mathematics and sciences compared to its neighboring countries.
"Unfortunately, our educational attainment when it comes to mathematics and the sciences, we do not do very well as compared to other countries," he said.
"I think as long as we continue to push it, kayang-kaya ng mga Filipino 'yan (the Filipino can do it)," he added.
According to Marcos Jr., the Department of Education (DepEd) under his administration will stress improving the STEM curriculum to develop a youth adept in sciences.
"Kaya isa sa ii-stress natin dito sa bagong gobyerno, bagong administrasyon, lalo na sa DepEd, ay to give more stress doon sa tinatawag na STEM (That's why we, particularly the DepEd, will give more stress to what we call the STEM)," he said.
"We need the talent. That is one of the major areas that our DepEd is going to be looking at and how to strengthen the instruction for our children and our students.
Marcos Jr. added that developing the country's STEM education is essential, primarily since the economy relies on technology.
"Ang ekonomiya natin ngayon ay (Our economy now is) very largely technical-based. Based on science, based on new technical innovations. Kaya't kailangan natin natututunan natin kung paano paandarin 'yan, kung paano pagandahin, kung paano i-apply dito sa Pilipinas (That's why we have to learn how to make this work, how to improve it, and how to apply it in the Philippines)," he said.
"'Yon talaga ang pangangailangan (That is necessary) and we have a lot to catch up dahil naiwanan tayo ng ating mga karatig bansa (we are lagging compared to our neighboring countries)," he added.
Marcos Jr. has named Vice President-elect Sara Duterte, his predecessor's daughter, as his Education secretary.