The Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) believes that the result of the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) clearly indicates that the Philippine education system is in crisis, stressing the need for immediate action from all sectors, including industry, government, and academia.
“Now more than ever, the PISA results show the dire need of Filipino learners of our full support. The state of education in the Philippines demands immediate attention, collective effort, and a commitment to improvement so we can give our children the best learning experience that they deserve,” PBEd said in a statement on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Following the release of the 2022 PISA results last Tuesday, Dec. 5, PBEd expressed its sentiments on the country’s “dismal ranking” for the second time, saying that it “is a clear indication that our education system is in its worst state and much work needs to be done.”
It also said that the learners’ “poor performance” is a nationwide issue that does not only concern the education sector.
“The weaknesses in our basic education system will eventually translate into the weakness of our workforce, affecting the productivity and key source of our economic growth and competitiveness,” PBEd added.
As an effort to unite the different sectors, PBEd is looking forward to its Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), where its partners in the industry, government, and academe are expected to participate “to take action for education”
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 2022 PISA results revealed that the average 2022 results were about the same as in 2018 in the performance of Filipino students in mathematics, reading, and science.
The recent report showed that the gap between the highest-scoring students and the weakest students narrowed in mathematics, while it did not change significantly in reading and science.
Based on the result from the assessment of 7,193 students from 188 schools in the Philippines, 16 percent of them achieved Level 2 proficiency in mathematics, below the OECD average, across 81 countries, of 69 percent.
Meanwhile, 24 percent of Filipino students achieved Level 2 or higher in reading, with an OECD average of 74 percent.
In science, 23 percent of students in the Philippines achieved Level 2 or higher in science, with the OECD average at 76 percent.
However, “almost no students” in the Philippines were top performers in these three subjects, the report noted.
The PBEd welcomes the Philippines’ continuous participation in large-scale international learning assessments, which allow the country to analyze the impact of the epidemic on learning.
“Efforts must also be made to use this assessment as guidance to improve our current situation and see the value of making data-driven decisions in education governance,” PBEd added.