(Courtesy of PBEd)

An advocacy group on Friday, July 21, urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to prioritize education when he delivers his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) next week. “We always complain about how bad our education system is and how it is affecting our kids but it [education] doesn’t seem to be a consistent issue,” said Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) President Chito Salazar in a pre-SONA press conference. “Whenever we listen to SONAs, administrations have come and gone but the issue of education does not seem to be a priority in many of our past administrations,” Salazar said. “It’s time that our leaders make education a top priority,” he added.

(Courtesy of PBEd)

During his second SONA on July 24, PBEd expressed hope that Marcos will use his “political will” to make education reforms happen to curb the effects of the learning crisis. “To make education reforms happen…we must set aside political calculations in choosing what is right and what is correct for our children,” Salazar added.

Topmost concern

During the press conference, PBEd presented “A Year in Review: Pressing Issues and Priority Reforms in Education” and unveiled its recommendations drawn from consultations with industry and education experts. Based on these consultations, PBEd highlighted the need to make education and nutrition a “national concern and national priority.” “If we focus on developing our people first, many of our problems—from corruption to poverty, to low productivity to joblessness—will be easier to solve,” Salazar added.

Recommendations

PBEd Executive Director Justine Raagas also presented issues and priority reforms in education based on its year-long consultation and roundtable discussions with different education and industry experts and stakeholders. The group emphasized the need to “fix the country’s weak education governance system” to address the compounded problems brought about by decades of neglect across administrations. (Courtesy of PBEd)

PBEd also emphasized the need for agencies to create a “long-term education agenda” and have efficient inter-agency coordination to ensure “consistency and sustainability” in education plans. The group also underscored the need for local government units (LGUs) to have more autonomy and resources so that they will be “empowered to come up with education solutions” based on local conditions. Salazar noted that education is a “multi-year, multi-decade, multi-administration problem” thus, it should be “given the right attention and resources.” Given this, PBEd expressed hope that the country’s leaders would “listen” to the recommendations of experts and stakeholders from the ground. “From there, we will be able to derive better solutions that are more sustainable and evidence-based that have a lasting impact on the lives of many Filipinos,” Salazar added.