Gatchalian calls for aggressive reforms vs. education crisis

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday called for more aggressive reforms in order to address the education crisis in the Philippines, saying the impact of the crisis would outlast the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Gatchalian said Senate Joint Resolution No. 10, which seeks to revive the Congressional Oversight Committee on Education, should give way to more aggressive reforms.

“Bago pa tumama ang pandemya, nasa ilalim na ng krisis ang sistema ng ating edukasyon. Dapat paigtingin ang reporma upang maiwasan natin ang lalong pag-urong ng kaalaman ng ating mga kabataan,” he said.

(Our education system had been under crisis even before the pandemic struck. So we need to intensify reforms to avoid the further degradation of the knowledge of the youth.) 

According to the senator, there was a need to decongest the K to 12 curriculum to focus on core competencies. He also stressed the importance of the quality of teacher education and training.

He made the remark after the World Bank reported that over 80% of Filipino schoolchildren fell below the minimum proficiency levels.

However, the Department of Education balked at the report and demanded a public apology, saying that it made conclusions based on old data.

The World Bank based its conclusion on the country’s scores in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment, the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, and the 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics.

Upon DepEd's demand, the World Bank apologized and took down the education report from its website. —LBG, GMA News