Marcos laments neglect of Philippine education sector

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. expressed dismay that the Philippine education sector has suffered from decades of neglect.

During an episode of the BBM Podcast on Wednesday, Marcos said there seems to have been no effort to address the problems in education. He said the country lacks at least 160,000 classrooms, adding that most classrooms need to be rehabilitated. 

"Isipin mo 160,000 ang kulang natin na classroom? Paano nangyari 'yun? Basta pinabayaan na lang," Marcos said. 

(Come to think of it, we lack 160,000 classrooms. How did that happen? Action was not taken to address it.) 

"Mayroon ngang classroom kaming nakikita Marcos-type pa. Tinayo mga 1970. Eh dapat 'yung mga classroom na 'yun, 20 to 30 years lamang ang lifetime. Dapat ayusin na 'yan after. Pero hanggang ngayon ginagamit pa. Pinabayaan talaga ang education. That's what happened. There was no effort to help the education," he added.

(We even saw classrooms that are Marcos-type structures. They were built in the 1970s. Those buildings only have a lifetime of 20 to 30 years. They should be rehabilitated after that. However, they are still being used until now. The education sector was neglected. That's what happened. There was no effort to help the education.) 

Read | The Cost of Miseducation: Lack of investment in PH education sector

The President did not identify those who had neglected their responsibilities.

Marcos has called for the need to rehabilitate some school buildings in the country, noting that these were built decades ago. 

He said the government would build more school buildings through partnerships between the public and private sectors.

The President also lauded public school teachers, saying that they are the hardest working public servants.

''They are leaders of their communities. They take care of our children. My God, this is a – you have to – we have to support them,'' Marcos said. 

''Kaya ang ating mga guro, asahan ninyo dito sa administration na ito, kayo ang pinupuri namin, kayo ang nagbibigay ng dangal sa ating educational system,'' he added. 

(To the teachers, expect that in this administration, you will be praised since you give dignity to our educational system.) 

Meanwhile, Marcos said the failure to address education concerns is often reflected in the country's ratings.

"Kaya 'yung mga grade–, 'yung mga rating natin, especially STEM subjects, pababa nang pababa. Tapos may hindi marunong magbasa," Marcos said, referring to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

(That's why the Philippines' grade—, our ratings, especially in STEM subjects, are low. Some students don't know how to read too.) 

Recently, the Senate and the House of Representatives jointly passed a concurrent resolution calling on Marcos to create a Cabinet Cluster for Education in order to address the country's education crisis, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) said.

The EDCOM 2 said it passed the concurrent resolution on June 11, the last day of the 19th Congress, to resolve the prevailing issues of functional illiteracy, lack of access to quality early childhood education, the obvious mismatch between graduate skills and industry needs, and significant gaps in teacher development, as identified by the commission in its Year 1 and 2 reports. — VDV/VBL, GMA Integrated News