Whereto, Philippine education?

One of the best things that’s happening to Philippine education is the implementation of K-12. For a while, K-12 was a dirty word to parents who could hardly make both ends meet, and found themselves scavenging for resources to pay for expenses for the two years that have been added to their children’s high school education.

Some hardship was indeed felt, but the end goal of the K to 12 educational system, to quote literature on the subject, is “to create a functional basic education system that will produce productive and responsible citizens equipped with the essential competencies and skills for both life-long learning and employment.” The dust seems to have settled, with students resigned to a longer period of academic study and, learning skills that prepare them for college, and, importantly, gainful employment after graduation.

K-12 has been implemented only during the last two years, so its impact on the Philippine economy and on society will take some time to evaluate. For now, the state of education in this country has not been pretty. This, according to members of the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), the business community’s response to the need for sustained and strategic education reform in the Philippines.

This assessment was revealed at a forum and press conference sponsored by PBEd. The forum featured a panel of education, economic and talent development experts who reflected on past and current efforts to widen access to higher education.

“A good education after high school is what separates people from good jobs and high levels of well-being,” said PBEd chair Ramon del Rosario. “When we talk higher education what we are really talking about are people’s lives and dreams.”

“An education that does not make lives better is no education at all,” according to PBEd. “Rising youth unemployment and poor achievement test scores underscore the quality issues plaguing all levels of the educational system. Public data show that 4 in 5 unemployed Filipinos have a high school diploma, while 1 in 5 even have a college degree.”

“Sadly, a diploma is no longer a sure ticket to success, let alone to shared prosperity, in this country,” said del Rosario.

“By all means, let’s have more people going to college. But we must ensure that they can count on a quality education once in,” said PBEd president Chito Salazar. He pointed to recent QS rankings of higher education systems which placed the Philippines at 46th out of 50 countries surveyed. This, he said, is “consistent with the fact that only 28 percent of the 2,396 higher education institutions in the country have programs accredited for quality. Faculty qualifications are also uninspiring, with nearly half of the college teaching force stuck with a bachelor’s degree.

The advocacy group lauded the Duterte administration for its commitment to K-12, but, it emphasized the importance of coupling efforts to widen access for Filipinos with a quality thrust.” “The first step is understanding the problem,” said PBEd executive director Love Basillote, who delivered the message on the strides and hurdles in reforming the present education system. 

Countries with high knowledge capital are also countries where people enjoy high incomes and standards of living, Basillote said. “And look where we are –- at the bottom. Our own experience in business underscores this sad reality: Despite the availability of jobs, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified talent. In a survey we conducted for 2016 alone, nearly a quarter of entry-level jobs went unfilled.”

“All this is problematic, as we are living in a world of automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning that, if unharnessed, could replace people in jobs. We need to successfully educate our people now so that our children will not face a world where they are left behind.”

“Filipino children are already failing behind, they are not learning,” said Basillote. “For universities that cater to low-income students, only 2 percent are ready for college based on their qualifying exams. In addition, the poor performance of our graduates in licensure exams, consistently below nationally set targets, is another indicator of the poor quality of learning that happens across the education system.”

‘’Joblessness continues to be a problem, particularly for the 1.2 million youth that comprise half of the unemployed. While education was supposed to increase the chances for a better life, this has not been the case of the 2 million unemployed Filipinos who have at least a high school diploma, a quarter of whom also have a college degree. . . we are seeing that a diploma is no longer a sure-ticket to a better life.”

The problem of education quality has roots in governance, teaching partnerships, and accountability, Basillote said. She recommended decentralization of the education system, as the sheer size of the system of 28 million learners, 800,000 teachers and 75,000 schools, makes it impossible for any manager to oversee effective education delivery from a head office. Second, teachers must be helped in relevant professional development. Third, there must be close collaboration between industry and academe to ensure curricular relevance for job-readiness and entrepreneurship. Last is accountability, which calls for academic programs to be accredited for quality.

“Together, let us dream higher for a Philippine education system that is equitable, relevant, and able to deliver on its promise of prosperity for all,” the PBEd executive director said.

The above assessment may change under the administration of Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones who assumed office only last year.

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