‘No-fail policy not good for students’

MANILA, Philippines — The proposal to implement a no-fail policy in schools will have a long-term negative impact on the academic performance of learners, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian warned.

“I do not agree with that because some children are really weak, for example, in Math, Reading or Science. We need to know that so we can help them. If you pass it all on, how will you know where he is weak?” he said.

Gatchalian believed that if the policy is implemented it will, instead of helping them, make it harder for the students when they go up to the next academic level.

“The trainings in various subjects are to find out where they are weak,” he added.

Gatchalian, Senate committee on basic education, arts and culture chairman, emphasized that the goal of continuing education, even during the challenging conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, is to ensure that the country’s more than 25 million learners in the basic education sector are learning enough and will be adequately prepared for their next level of schooling.

He reiterated that the assessment of learners should focus not only on the competencies that they are acquiring but also in areas where they are struggling. This would help schools target learners in rolling out remedial programs to address learning gaps and losses.

The lawmaker warned that learners who proceed to the next grade level without receiving interventions in areas where they are weak would continue underperforming.

Gatchalian noted that K-12 learners are already struggling with mastering basic competencies before the COVID-19 pandemic, as he recalled the results of three international large scale assessments: 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics 2019 and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2019.

Filipino learners trailed behind their global counterparts in all three assessments.

At a recent hearing at the House of Representatives, officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) rejected the proposal to implement a no-fail policy system.