Marcos forms education, workforce body

MANILA, Philippines — Citing concerns over the “fragmented” implementation of education programs and “incoherent” policies, President Marcos has formed a central coordinating body on education and workforce development.

The Education and Workforce Development Group would craft a 10-year plan to guide agencies in aligning Philippine education and workforce with the global economy’s evolving demands.

Challenges facing the education sector are expected to be addressed by the plan, such as identifying priority programs and providing mechanisms to boost the country’s labor market information system.

Tasks of the group include evaluating inter-agency bodies with education-related duties and proposing mechanisms to streamline them, overseeing program implementation and studying legal and policy frameworks related to education and workforce development.

Created through Administrative Order 36 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Aug. 13, the group will be chaired by Marcos, with the education secretary as co-chair and labor secretary as vice chair.

Members include the chair of the Commission on Higher Education, secretaries of the migrant workers and economy, planning and development departments and director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

AO 36 cited a report by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), which enumerated issues, including the “fragmented” implementation of programs, “misaligned” teacher development pathways and “incoherent” plans and policies.

The EDCOM II report also observed that coordination within the education sector remains a challenge despite the existence of multiple inter-agency bodies on education.

VP shallow – ACT

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) yesterday criticized Vice President Sara Duterte after she said that Philippine education is lagging as it remains stuck in “paper and pencil.”

Duterte’s “shallow” comparison with other countries’ state of education is merely a cover-up for her failures during her term as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said.

“It is not pen and paper that trapped our education system in crisis, but people in power like her who put self-serving interests above the genuine needs of the people,” he said.

Quetua recalled Duterte’s promise of solving “all the problems of basic education if Congress granted her P100 billion.”

“Instead, the Commission on Audit exposed the DepEd under her leadership for billions worth of disallowances, suspensions, unliquidated cash advances, delayed or non-implementation of programs and glaring procurement irregularities,” he pointed out.

“Classroom construction and repairs plummeted, last mile schools stagnated, feeding programs were marred by anomalies and students continued to suffer from a lack of textbooks and learning materials. She has no moral standing to lecture anyone about the state of education,” he added.

Duterte served as education secretary from June 30, 2022 to July 19, 2024.

“She betrayed public trust when she spent P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days and continues to hide behind her political allies to escape accountability,” Quetua noted.

ACT party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said Duterte is a hypocrite, given her dismal performance as education secretary.

Leased classrooms?

The DepEd is looking into leasing facilities to address the classroom backlog of 165,443 nationwide.

Aside from renting buildings to serve as classrooms, the DepEd would also tap local government units to construct classrooms, Education Undersecretary for human resource and organizational development Wilfredo Cabral said.

“We are studying existing properties, particularly in areas where there are no buildable spaces, but rental or leasing capabilities are possible,” he said. — Bella Cariaso, Jose Rodel Clapano