To help improve the quality of basic education in the country, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte reiterated her commitment to initiate reforms in the Department of Education (DepED).
“Today, there is no room for complacency at DepEd,” Duterte said during the 10th anniversary of the Research Center for Teacher Quality (RCTQ) on Friday, Nov. 18.
“As promised in the Basic Education Development Plan 2030, DepEd will be enabled by modern, efficient, and nimble governance and management processes,” she added.
Duterte briefly discussed the BEDP 2030 which is a project launched by former Education Secretary Leonor Briones.
With technical assistance from UNICEF and the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), the BEDP 2030 is the first long-term plan for basic education.
It also serves as a strategic roadmap for improving the quality of basic education as well as the learners’ experiences in the basic education learning environment.
Meanwhile, Duterte also recognized the contribution of RCTQ in enhancing teacher quality in the country through the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST).
The creation of the RCTQ was made possible through the collaboration between the Philippine Normal University (PNU) and its partners, the University of New England, and the Australian Agency for International Development.
The RCTQ, Duterte said, invested over three years of research and consultations to produce the PPST which was formally adopted and implemented nationwide by DepEd in 2017.
The RCTQ spent three more years of research and validation to produce the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads and Supervisors.
These standards were adopted by DepEd in 2020.
Duterte noted that through RCTQ’s help in embedding these standards in the agency’s human resource systems, “DepEd is now able to issue more informed policies on teacher hiring, promotion and career progression, teacher professional development, and rewards and recognition.”
Culture of research
Meanwhile, Duterte also highlighted that culture of research in DepEd is “growing” by establishing a research component called the “Basic Education Research Fund” or BERF under the Policy and Research Program, and DepEd’s very first research portal called “e-Saliksik” to make research results accessible.
“The e-Saliksik serves as a repository of all quality-assured education research completed by our teachers, supervisors, and education specialists,” Duterte said.
Duterte said that the portal is new and DepEd is still adding more features to provide more online services to its users.
All of these initiatives on strengthening research, Duterte said, will provide DepEd with “concrete evidence in policy formulation and program development.”
During her speech, Duterte once again underscored the importance of the teaching force in the agency.
Being its most important resource, Duterte said that taking good care of the teaching force “will help speed up the process of improving the quality of education in our country.”
With the Education Forum platform and its upcoming policy and research agenda, Duterte urged stakeholders to “work together to improve the quality of teachers through research and evidence building.”