Following a series of consultations, an advocacy group on Monday, May 29, unveiled the current state of Philippine education and called on stakeholders to address the most pressing issues which contribute to the “crisis” that the country is currently in.

The Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) presented its 2023 State of Philippine Education report --- a result of the series of consultations with students, parents, teachers, school heads, industry experts, and government officials at the Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig City.

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https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/27/advocacy-group-to-unveil-the-state-of-ph-education-on-may-29

During the presentation, PBEd identified the most pressing issues that hound the country’s education system: declining mental health among students and teachers; the lack of support for teachers; the culture of “mass promotion” of learners, and the “absence of accurate, timely and consistent assessments.”

In his opening remarks, PBEd Chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr.’s recognized the significant strides in reforms focusing on learning outcomes and employability through collaborative initiatives.

However, he pointed out the urgent need to discuss the state of the country's education system. “We cannot ignore the persistent challenges, particularly the learning crisis,” del Rosario said, noting that “these challenges urge us to redouble our efforts and push for a better education system.”

Noting that education is the “bedrock of progress, catalyst for individual growth, and cornerstone for national development,” del Rosario stressed that it is “imperative that we address the challenges hindering our education system from reaching its full potential.”

The presentation of the country’s current state of education was the highlight of this year’s Annual Membership Meeting.

As PBEd and its partners aim to formulate actionable strategies to address the issues that surfaced from these discussions, del Rosario also urged everyone to “continue with proactive measures in resolving factors that contribute greatly to the state of education that we are in.”

Identifying issues

In her presentation of the State of Philippine Education Report, PBEd Executive Director Justine Raagas said that PBEd held several consultations to “really hear the voices of students, parents, teachers, school heads, government officials, and industry partners and hear their shared experiences on the ground.”

Raagas noted that even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the Philippines was “suffering from a learning crisis where 9 out of 10 students aged 10 were unable to read simple texts.”

In the past years, Raagas said that the country has also seen “dismal results in international assessments” and at the same time, “child malnutrition and stunting worsened in the past decades.”

“When the pandemic hit, our education system was really caught off guard,” Raagas said, noting that “many learners were left behind.”

Addressing the crisis

During an interview on the sidelines, Raagas reiterated that the country’s “current state of education is really in crisis.”

Given this, she underscored the need to address the crisis through collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors and other key players.

“What we really need to address is that our learners are really learning, to teach them basic literacy, numeracy, focus on the basics and really make sure that they are able to read, they are able to write so that when they go to upper levels, they are able to comprehend and this would lead to better learning outcomes and employability outcomes in the future,” Raagas told reporters.

At this point, Raagas said focusing on the basics should be among the top priorities for intervention.

“Kailangan natin pagtuunan ng pansin yan (We have to focus on that) and we put efforts and resources there,” she said.

Moreover, Raagas pointed out that “we also need to assess because we don’t know where we are at and we don’t know where we can start in terms of remediation efforts.”

Furthermore, Raagas highlighted the need to ensure that teachers are equipped and empowered.

“There’s been a lot of clamor for support in terms of making sure that teachers are able to do their jobs which is to manage the classroom and deliver teaching and they can’t do that if they focus on other things like doing administrative tasks,” she added.

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