Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20) — The Philippine government should focus on improving the quality of education and training in the country, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said.
PIDS president Aniceto Orbeta Jr. made the statement during a recent forum organized by PIDS and the Socioeconomic Research Portal for the Philippines Network.
To achieve this, he underscored the importance of generating, reporting, and discussing data on education quality and performance in formulating related policies and plans.
“We should not be afraid of looking at the outcome of our exam scores because these will tell us how much we have learned,” Orbeta was quoted in a statement.
The country should face its education problems “squarely” and seek help from different stakeholders because “test scores are a problem of both schools and households,” he said.
Moreover, the contribution of the private sector should also be maximized, he added.
In 2021, a World Bank report said 80% of Filipino children "do not know what they should know.”
According to three global assessments, only 10% to 22% of Grades 4, 5, and 9 students scored “at or above minimum proficiency,” it said.
The report had been taken down after Education Secretary Leonor Briones demanded for an apology for its “outdated and insulting” report on the country's educational situation.
Meanwhile, Orbeta also said the country’s education sector should continue adapting to flexible learning amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
However, interaction between teachers and students must be improved and the sector should be more strategic in using technology, he emphasized.
“In basic education, or maybe in [technical and vocational education and training] as well, we see that online [learning] does not work because most of our students are [still reliant] on paper-based learning,” Orbeta said.
“Online [learning] will only serve the richer ones who have [internet] access at home but not most of our public schools,” he pointed out.
Orbeta said the interaction issue can be addressed by providing load assistance to teachers so they can talk and interact more with their students as they go through their paper module.
On equity issues, the government can solve this with policies targeted at the poor, he also said.
The culture of research and development, and innovation in the country should also be developed, Orbeta added.
