An advocacy group on Wednesday, Oct. 9, called on newly appointed Department of Local and Interior Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla to help address the learning crisis in the country by mobilizing local governments.
Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), in a statement, called for “stronger local government involvement” in education and workforce development to tackle the country’s growing learning and employability crisis.
“The education challenge we face is so immense that it requires a whole-of-nation approach,” PBEd Executive Director Justine Raagas said. “Local governments are in the best position to understand and address the specific issues their communities face,” she added.
With his extensive experience in local government administration, PBEd expressed hope that Remulla will rally local government leaders for education.
“We need to ramp up local investments in education and put education at the heart of local development programs, upon which the growth and development of our communities and entire nation rest,” Raagas said.
Empowering local school boards
To support community-driven initiatives aimed at improving teaching quality, learning outcomes, and workforce readiness, PBEd emphasized the need to empower local school boards (LSBs) and ensure the efficient use of special education funds (SEF).
PBEd explained that the LSB is a “special body” tasked by the Local Government Code of 1991 with allocating the SEF to meet the supplementary needs of the local public school system.
The SEF, PBEd said, comes from the one percent tax on real property paid to the local government.
Proposals in the Senate through Senate Bill Numbers 155 and 1633 call for the expansion of the LSB and its responsibilities to include the formulation of policies focusing on the quality of education.
“Strong partnerships with local government units have been key to the success of our programs for education,” Raagas said.
She pointed out that in many regions, local governments have taken the lead in implementing literacy programs for early childhood learners and spearheading training programs that enhance youth employability.
“We aim to replicate these successes across more areas and make a coordinated push to uplift education quality nationwide,” Raagas added.
Addressing learning, employability crisis
PBEd pointed out that one of the challenges exacerbating the learning crisis in the country is the “widening skills gap” driven by the rapid digitization and automation of industries.
To respond to this, PBEd partnered with Citi Foundation to train Filipino youth from across the country for jobs of the future.
Through the JobsNext project, over 2,500 young individuals gained critical skills for future jobs in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data, and other emerging technologies.
Among them, 52 participants were further trained under its NEXTGENeration Leaders program, an incubation program designed to harness digital solutions to address pressing community challenges.
Graduates of the JobsNext training workshops, together with their mentors from the local government, developed project proposals to tackle issues like youth unemployment, access to health services, disaster response, and mental health in their respective communities.
Raagas said that Filipino youth are the “best choice” to lead and create solutions for the changing needs of communities and industries as they learn to adapt to emerging technologies and innovations.
“By participating in this program, these young leaders can now pay it forward by using their skills to foster positive change and inspire others,” she added.
The incubation program provided over 16 hours of leadership training and mentoring in partnership with “KadaKareer,” a career development platform for Filipino students launching their digital careers.
The program culminated in a two-day hackathon event last month. In collaboration with the Benilde Hub for Innovation and Inclusion (HIFI), participants were given the chance to refine their problem-solving skills, work closely with mentors, and pitch digital solutions to various challenges.
Participants presented their proposals to local government offices, committing to provide seed grants for implementation.
“We are planting seeds of change through these youth leaders, and we look forward to more support from local partners in government, industry, and academe to help these efforts flourish,” Raagas said.
“With stronger collaboration, we can ensure that their initiatives grow into impactful, long-term solutions for their communities and create a ripple effect, driving real progress in addressing the learning and employability crisis,” she added.
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