Philippines education stuck in ‘paper and pencil’ – VP Sara

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte said the Philippines is being left behind in education compared to other countries.

Speaking before Filipinos attending the “Hakbang ng Maisug” event on Aug. 15 in Kuwait, Duterte said that education is advanced in other countries, while the Philippines remains stuck in “paper and pencil.”

“What I have noticed is that in our country, it takes a long time before we are able to catch up with modernization. In other countries, they are so modern. As for us, we are still in paper and pencil. That is just an example. In other countries, their children are already learning about robotics and coding. At age three and four, they already know how to read,” she said.

“While in our country, there are high school students who still do not know how to read,” added Duterte, who served as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary from June 30, 2022 until July 19, 2024.

She said there is a lot that can be done to improve education in the country.

The United Nations Children’s Fund earlier warned of a “real and widespread learning crisis” in the Philippines.

It cited data from a 2019 study that reportedly showed that 90 percent of Grade 5 Filipino students are unable to read at their expected level and 83 percent continue to struggle with basic math skills.

The DepEd gave assurance that there would be interventions implemented from Kindergarten to Grade 3 to address the learning crisis.

The Vice President also mentioned other problems in the country that need to be addressed such as the economy that forced many overseas Filipino workers to work in other countries.

One of the nurses she had talked to reportedly said that if the entry level in hiring nurses would be raised to P35,000, she would not leave her family in the Philippines.

“That is why I have always said that (Filipinos) should leave the country because they want to leave. They should not leave because of the reason that they could not find adequate jobs. This is the most important thing that we could do for our countrymen,” she said.

She also noted that asking for government assistance in the country is difficult because the applicant would have to secure several required documents from different offices before being able to avail oneself of assistance.

Duterte also pointed out that floods and landslides are problems experienced by the country every year, “But why is it that every time there are typhoons, floods and landslides it is as if we are first-timers. It is as if we are surprised that these happen.”

She believes that if another Super Typhoon Yolanda would hit the country, the extent of devastation would happen again.

In November 2013, around 6,300 people reportedly died in the Visayas during the onslaught of Yolanda.