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K + 12 still struggling

Usual backlog of classrooms, teachers remains, says Luistro


By Dona Z. Pazzibugan |Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:14 am | Monday, June 3rd, 2013

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(First of a series)

SOURCES: DEPED AND CHED / COMPILED BY: SCHATZI QUODALA, INQUIRER RESEARCH
The birth pains that marked the launching last year of K + 12a bold program meant to align the Philippines with the
global 12-year basic education cycleare not going away soon, along with the usual problems encountered at the
beginning of each school year.

A quarter of the Philippines nearly 100 million population are studentssome 21 million of them enrolled in more
than 46,000 public schools and the rest in private facilities, according to statistics from the Department of Education
(DepEd) for the school year 2011-12. (Figures from the last school year remained unavailable.)
Classes in public schools begin Mondayin some impoverished areas under the trees and still in others under tents,
particularly in the Compostela Valley, where buildings were flattened in the devastating onslaught in December by
Typhoon Pablo and remained unbuilt.
On May 15, President Aquino signed into law the program mandating Filipino pupils to attend kindergarten, six years
of elementary school education, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school. The signing
officially ended the countrys 10-year basic education cycle, which now exists only in Angola and Djibouti.
New learning materials under the revised curriculum for Grade 2 and Grade 8 (formerly second year high school) will
again be delivered late, as in last year when the K + 12 program was rolled out. As in the previous year, teachers did
not have enough time to prepare. They only had a five-day mass training just before the start of classes.
Still, this second year of the programs implementation should be better as the DepEd gains experience, said Armin
Luistro, the education secretary and former president of De La Salle University, in a recent interview.
Its not generally understood and quite hard to explain that the K to 12 is a curriculum reform that involves changes
in textbooks, changes in classrooms, retooling of teachers, etc., said Luistro. Even if there is no K to 12, we have to
address the backlog in classrooms, toilets, teachers, etc.
The DepEd started revising the basic education curriculum the past school year in Grades 1 and 7.
In any undertaking the first year of implementation is faced with a lot of glitches, challenges, said Education
Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo when asked about the rushed training of teachers and the long delays in the
delivery of the learning materials.
For the new curriculum for Grades 2 and 8 this year, the learning materials would again be delivered late, although
Mateo promised these would reach the teachers and students earlierby the end of June or early July.
We made (the curriculum change) gradual, so we will improve as we move along the full implementation. This year
will not be as problematic as last year, he said.
A major change this year was the decision to tap the DepEds own experts in the field and in the main office to
develop and train the teachers for the new curriculum.
The department previously sought the help of mostly university educators as subject area convenors to develop the
teachers and learners materials.
Training
This time, the DepEds Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE) took the lead for the Grade 2 curriculum development,
while the Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE) handled the Grade 8 curriculum, working with DepEd teacher
experts.
This is a lot better than last year. We learned. The training was better-planned. There was even a chief trainers
training before the trainers training. We learned from the experience last time, said BEE education program
specialist Galileo Go.
The trainers attended a seven-day program in April. The national training for the Grade 8 trainers was held in Baguio
City on April 14-20. Three sets of training were held for the Grade 2 trainers: in Quezon City for Luzon, Cebu City for
Visayas-Mindanao, and in Iloilo City for a special training session for the province.
The mass teachers training started after the May 13 elections.
Leversia Rivera, an English teacher at Manila Science High School for the last 14 years, said the training had
improved but it was still not enough.
She took part in the training for Grade 8 teachers from Manila, Caloocan and Pasay City public schools on May 20-24
at Philippine Normal University. She said the teachers who underwent the mass training last year appreciated the
exercise this time.
Incomplete materials
However, the teachers were handed only a curriculum guide consisting of a few pages, and teaching modules
contained lessons only for the first quarter, Rivera said. Its hard to see the continuity when you do not know where
youre supposed to go by the end of the school year, she said.
We cant blame the trainers since these were the same materials given to them. They assured us the lessons up to
the fourth quarter period have been completed. Maybe its in the production, she went on.
The teachers nevertheless pooled their resources to get soft copies of all the materials available and reproduced
these at their own cost.
Go, who was the lead trainer for the revised Grade 2 English subject, said the teachers guides were ready by
December last year so the bureau had more time to plan and prepare the training modules.
Unlike in the pilot year when the subject area convenors developed all the Grade 1 learning materials, including those
for the various Mother Tongue subjects, the Grade 2 learners materials were devolved to the DepEd regional offices.
Using the learners guide developed by the BEE in Filipino, the DepEd regional offices tailor-fitted the materials per
subject according to their language and cultural context.
K + 12 reverted to a multilingual education with the use of the mother tongue (the language a child uses at home) as
a medium of instruction from kinder to Grade 3 and as a separate subject from Grade 1 to Grade 3.

The DepEd is employing 12 major local languagesTagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano,
Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao and Chabacanointroduced as a subject in Grades 1 to 3 in
select schools.
The teachers guides, however, are all written in English.
Not enough training
Five days of training is admittedly not enough, Go said, especially since teachers in the lower grade levels usually
handle most if not all of the subjects in their grade level.
The same teachers who underwent the Grade 1 curriculum training also turned up for the Grade 2 curriculum training.
Grade 1 and 2 teachers can teach all the subjects, said Go, who had taught all grade school subjects as a teacher
and acting principal in Mogpong, Marinduque, before he joined the DepEd in 2004.
BSE education program specialist Marivic Tolitol said the Grade 8 curriculum was completed earlier than last year.
A physical education teacher before she joined the DepEd in 1998, Tolitol said she used to simply follow the lesson
outline of the textbook.
Before, I did not know there was a framework. I did not know why I was teaching these topics. I thought the textbook
was it. But in fact you have to adjust the textbook according to the scope and topics you are teaching, she said.
She said the topics in the new curriculum were arranged to build on skills that had been acquired.
If you simply follow the textbook, you do not understand the prerequisites, she said. There is a very big change (in
the new curriculum). Now the focus is to teach for understanding, not for facts or low level information.
The Grade 8 learners guide, or learners material, per subject area is a thick pile of loose sheets bound together,
Tolitol said. The learners material for Filipino has about 500 pages.
Real-life applications
With a revised curriculum, the existing textbooks in schools are no longer the primary source of materials but have
instead become supplements to the new learning concepts developed by the DepEd.
The textbooks are references but the exercises are already included in the materials. There are built-in readings,
Tolitol explained.
The emphasis on real-life applications of learning also opens the door to tapping resources outside the classroom.
We have very rich resources, like people, parents and the people in the community. The Internet can be a resource.
If you depend on the textbook youre not even sure if it was printed correctly, she said. Dont get me wrong.
Textbooks are important. All were saying is we should not be limited to the textbook.
The Grade 2 learners materials, on the other hand, are in book form.
Go said the department had taken note of the activities in the existing textbooks that the teachers could still use in the
new curriculum.
If the learners materials are not yet there, they make their own on Manila paper, he said. If I will teach again, its
better now because we have a lot of materials. Before, when I was in the mountains, I had no textbook. We were
using Manila paper. I did everything.
Spiral approach
Rivera said she appreciated the curriculum framework, including the spiral approach in tackling lessons, but
believed the new curriculum would work only under ideal school conditions.
In itself, the spiral approach is good and will ensure understanding so students can apply knowledge and
competencies and be lifelong learners. Given favorable conditions, it will really work. But there are the realities. In
some schools there are 80 students in a class, she said.
As a specialized school, Manila Science High School has the ideal class size of 35 students.
Rivera said teachers would cope even if the implementation was in a trial-and-error stage.
Teachers are inherently creative and resourceful. Thats how it is when youre a teacher. Well do our part. We hope
DepEd central [office] would do its job and ensure the basic inputs, she said.
Mateo said the result of the K-to-12 reform would be known when pupils who entered kindergarten in school year
2011-12 had been through the new curriculum.
The impact will be seen after six years because for those who will enter kinder, the assessment is when they finish
(elementary school), he said.
Planning senior high
The DepEd, meanwhile, has its eye on the fast-approaching 2016, when the added senior high school kicks in
nationwide.
Luistro outlined general plans to give high school graduates viable options other than having to get a college degree
to land a good job.
High school education is currently a one-size-fits-all program that assumes all graduates are meant for college, the
department says. High school graduates who cannot afford college cannot land good jobs.
To help plan for the major infrastructure needs, Luistro said the department tapped the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) to map out the capacity of private high schools as well as colleges and universities to absorb senior high
students.
The government cannot build all the classrooms and hire all the teachers needed for senior high school, what with the
need for classrooms and teachers going up each year in public schools.

Luistro said he was hoping for a 60:40 ratio between public schools and private schools in accommodating the more
than 2 million senior high school students expected in 2016 and 2017.
Subsidizing students in private schools is less costly than if these students are in public schools.
In principle, the government saves more if there are more students absorbed by private schools. But the question is,
not all can be absorbed by private schools, Luistro said.
2-year college vacuum
He said that extending subsidy to private schools would not only address the governments logistical problem but also
the concern of private colleges and universities, which would not have freshman enrollees in 2016 and 2017.
More importantly, the ADB mapping will also look into the senior high school programs that private schools plan to
offer, whether in the regular academic track, the technical-vocational programs, entrepreneurial or the sports and arts
courses.
Luistro wants senior high school programs to be tailor-fit for the locality in order to afford graduates who will not
pursue college a good chance at employment or entrepreneurship.
What we want in senior high school is specialized. If we will offer the same kind of programs, then all our graduates
will compete for the same kind of jobs, he said.
Senior high schools have to localize their technical-vocational or entrepreneurial programs, Luistro said.
It will be easy if the province has a development plan, like Batangas has piers so it needs welders. The problem is if
the province has no development plan, we have no basis to plan, he said.
We do not want a situation where since there is a fad for Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority) courses in beauty care, cosmetology, manicure and pedicure, youll have so many such graduates in a
barangay. What will you all do? Thats the problem, he said.
Luistro has suggested to Tesda the development of courses for scuba diving and surfing and others related to local
tourism.
Dive spots in the provinces are a draw for tourists who stay for several weeks, he said, but the country has no diving
academy.
23 tech-voc courses
During a recent visit to Siargao, Luistro said he saw three youths aged between 13 and 14 years who were not
attending school because they were serving as surfing guides.
Luistro suggested a surfing academy in Siargao where the young guides could gain professional certification while
attending school.
There are core competencies, but the training should result in skills that can land them jobs, he said.
Tesda said it had developed curriculum for technical-vocational courses, including automotive servicing, mechanical
drafting, computer hardware servicing, horticulture, shielded metal arc welding, consumer electronics servicing, aqua
culture, dressmaking/tailoring, masonry, care-giving, household services, plumbing, agricrop production, fish capture,
handicraft, carpentry, electrical installation and maintenance, bread and pastry production, tile setting, animal
production, fish processing and beauty care.
For the specialized technical-vocational courses in senior high school, the DepEd plans to tap practitioners as parttime teachers.
Republic Act No. 10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education law, more popularly referred to as the K to 12 law, allows
schools to hire nonlicensed teachers as part-time teachers in high school.
We can hire a bemedalled surfing coach who can teach surfing, or a Mangyan elder who has not finished college or
high school but recognized as one who teaches values. The law allows this Mangyan elder to teach values education
in the Mangyan communities, Luistro said.
Luistro said the DepEd hoped to finish the mapping by November. We have time to prepare, he said.

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http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/419261/k-12-still-struggling

Serious Problems with the K-12 Senior High School Curriculum


Posted on February 18, 2014by Joel Tabora, S.J.

During the DepEd-CEAP Mindanao Summit organized by CEAPs National Basic


Education Commission (NBEC) and co-hosted by Ateneo de Davao University on 17-18
February, the intention was to appreciate progress attained in the implementation of the
K-12 educational reform and to understand the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Act of
2013 (RA 10627) for the Mindanao schools.
The presentation on the content of the Anti-Bullying Act was straightforward. Atty.
Joseph Estrada combined competence with humor overcoming an irksome cough!
to describe the content of the law and clarify its requirements for the schools.
But the presentations on the K-12 were more problematic. Brother Armin Luistro, FSC,
DepED Secretary, whod come to the Mindanao Summit despite an injury sustained in a
basketball match among Cabinet members, spearheaded the presentations with an
update on where K-12 is. He reminded all of a prior commitment: basic education was
not merely to be reformed, but transformed. It was to be genuinely learner
centered. He pointed to a nearly-completed K-12 curriculum that would allow for
creativity, innovation, and in Mindanao, a Mindanao perspective. Therefore, such
features as the mother-tongue based education, and an assessment system based on the
conviction, No child is a failure! were to be appreciated. He encouraged Catholic
schools in Mindanao to return to their original religious charisms to understand how
each might contribute uniquely to the success of the educational reform. In Mindanao,
special challenges that Catholic schools might address would be the educational needs of
the Indigenous Peoples, of the out of school youth, and even of the street children.
Over-Congested Curriculum
No problem with that. When Mr. Elvin Ivan Y. Uy, DepEds K-12 Program Coordinator,
presented the status of the Senior High School curriculum, problems began to
emerge. He echoed Bro. Armins summary of the reform as Learner-centered
education. But from the Power Point Presentation entitled: The K-12 Curriculum:
CEAP-NBEC Summit he spoke of 31 total Subjects required for Senior High School,
15 of which were Core Subjects and 16 of which were Track Subjects, the latter
broken down into 7 Contextualized subjects and 9 Specialization subjects. From the
same slide came the non-negotiable announcement: Each subject will have 80 hours
per semester.

The latter came as a shocker to curriculum planners from within the assembly like Dr.
Gina Montalan, Dean of the College of Education Ateneo de Davao University, who was
quick to point out that this would mean 6.5 hours of contact hours daily in the senior
high school for the DepEds required courses. If this were to be reckoned in todays
college units, this would be the equivalent to a whopping 32.5 units where college
students who need time to read and study outside of class should be taking no more
than about 20 units. The heavy daily 6.5 hours of required DepEd courses allowed little
room for mission-driven schools as all CEAP schools are! to add courses required
by their educational mission. These include subjects such as religious education or
theology, philosophy, and special formational courses such as in leadership training.
From the floor, Dr. Montalan suggested that the 80 hour per semester per course
requirement be tempered into 80 hours for some courses, and less for others. She even
suggested that if the 80 hours per course be truly required then classes be allowed on
Saturday in order for the mission schools to be able to accommodate their subjects. Bro.
Armin, sensitive to the learner, was not too enthusiastic about the latter, and suggested
that some of the mission courses might be the content of the required DepEd
courses. How that might sit, however, with zealous guardians of disciplines or DepEd
officials more sensitive to the letter of rules than their spirit is a serious concern.
It was because of this that the CEAP-DepEd Mindanao Summit unanimously passed a
resolution that the DepED, in consultation with Mindanao educators on the ground
revisit the 80 hours per subject requirement.
Tec-Voc Track Wont Prepare Students for Work as Industry Requires
A similarly serious problem came with the presentation of Fr. Onofre G. Inocensio, Jr.,
SDB, Superintendent of Don Bosco Schools and TVET Centers, on Implementing the
SHS Tech-Voc Track. All know that the Don Bosco schools are long-time recognized
experts in technical vocation educational training. Basically, Fr. Inocensio explained
that the senior high school core curriculum requirement is so heavy that there would
be no time to develop the hands-on skills in the students that such as the manufacturing
industry requires. There is adequate time to train manicurists and pedicurists, but shall
these provide the skills necessary for industrial development of the nation. Within the
time-constraints of the senior high school, Fr. Inocensios thesis is that it is not possible
to truly develop the multi-skilled students needed for industry. He confirmed his thesis
in recent dialogues with industry: what is important is not that the student has gone

through a required number of hours in vocational training, but that the student actually
have the skills required by industry. His solution: for the Don Bosco schools, they will
focus on teaching the skills as required by industry, using skilled teachers and the
industrial machinery and equipment required to impart them, and insure thereby that
the student be employed. To do so they will set aside the DepEd requirement of the core
curriculum. Once employed without having graduated from senior high school! the
student will be given the opportunity to come back to school and finish the academic
requirements that might also qualify him for college.
For the K-12 program, however, this position is disastrous. The K-12 program was
precisely supposed to either prepare students for gainful work after basic
education orprepare students for college. The either/or has become a both/and. It
intends both to equip the students with the skills necessary for gainful
employment and to prepare them for college within the same time constraint. And
because the designers are all college graduates with PhDs from the best of higher
educational intentions, but without the experience of training students in handling a
lathe or a welding machine, we now have a policy which has effectively shut out
meaningful skills development in favor of pre-college preparation. The K-12 program
has been reduced thereby to pre-college preparation whose core curriculum, according
to Mr. Elvin Uy, will prepare the student for college according to the College Readiness
Standards of the CHED.
Originally, there was supposed to be a pre-work track and a pre-college track. Pre-work
would equip students with industry-required skills. The pre-college track (not the core
curriculum common to all!) would prepare students for college according to CHEDs
college readiness standards.
Despite the fact that the K-12 reform was inspired by the conviction that not all need to
go to college, it is designed so that all can go to college. This either disrespects the
requirements for work, or disrespects the requirements for college. DepEd has chosen
to disrespect the requirements for work. For Fr. Inocensio to continue respecting the
requirements for work, he must sacrifice the DepED requirements for senior high
school.
In fact, in the presentations given by Dr. Tina Padolina on the Science, Technology and
Mathematics (STEM) strand and by Dr. Maria Luz Vilches on Humanities in Senior
High School, many of the subjects like Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research
sounded very HEI like belonging more to college or even graduate school education

rather than to basic education. I squirmed to find out that future nurses shall be
categorized under STEM and so be required to take even modified calculus. Is this
really necessary?
So again, the participants of the CEAP-DepED Summit in Mindanao unanimously
resolved that the DepEd revisit the requirements for the Tech-Voc Track.
Flexibility Required: Less May Be More
Of course, putting together curricular requirements for the K-12 reform is one
thing. Teaching them is quite another. A curriculum is like a wish list, but all the
components of curricula need real teachers. Here is, I think, where reality will demolish
the conceptual castles some may be taking satisfaction in in the formulation of these
curricula. For K-12 to succeed in being truly learner centered if must be realistically
teacher and region sensitive.
In the implementation of the K-12 reform, it must be clearly set in policy that these
curricular requirements for a long time cannot be decreed FYI for your
information (as was asserted by one speaker at the Mindanao Summit), but shall have
to be tentative and subject to the educational, pedagogical and industrial realities of
the countrys many different regions including the actual skills sets of our available
teachers. The outputs of a relatively high concentration of highly-qualified educators in
the Metro Manila areas cannot be expected in provincial areas. Tec-Voc training in
industrial areas will have to be different from that in rural areas. Policy must be set so
that there is ability to put the senior high school together and operate with the limited
resources of particular regions.
At this point, DepEd needs to take more of a dialogical rather than a prescriptive
stance; it must be encouraging and empowering, not over-demanding and
discouraging. It must capitalize on the good will of people who want this reform to
work.
http://taborasj.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/serious-problems-with-the-k-12-senior-high-schoolcurriculum/

A RATIONALE FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION

David Hicks
Global education is the term used internationally to describe a form of education which:

enables people to understand the links between their own lives and those of people throughout the
world
increases understanding of the economic, cultural, political and environmental influences which shape
our lives
develops the skills, attitudes and values which enable people to work together to bring about change
and take control of their own lives
works towards achieving a more just and sustainable world in which power and resources are more
equitably shared
Teachers often talk about the need for a global dimension in the curriculum and the ability, therefore, of
students to take a global perspective on contemporary events and issues. This is different from the term
international which refers to connections between countries, as in international relationships. The key
organising concept is interdependence, which highlights the complex web of interrelationships existing
between people, places, issues and events in the world today. Exploration of local-global connections is
at the heart of global education, since these dimensions are inextricably related and relevant to all subject
areas.
Global education places particular emphasis on curriculum process as well as content and is accordingly
characterised by approaches to teaching and learning which are both experiential and participatory. It
draws on two long-standing traditions within education (Richardson 1990). The first is concerned with
learner-centred education and the development of the individual, the second focuses on the role that
education can play in helping create a more just and equitable society. The emphasis in global education
is therefore on both changing self and changing society for neither is possible without the other.
One can no longer make sense of everyday life unless this is set in the context of living in a global
society. In particular the process of globalization is changing the face of the planet. We are now faced
with a multiplicity of global linkages, far distant events and decisions impact nationally and locally. The
current world order is being changed by the forces of globalization. There is greater integration, e.g. the

European Union, transnational corporations, pop music and fashion, but also greater fragmentation, e.g.
resurgence of nationalism, ethnic and religious conflicts, critical social movements.
The Earth Summits in 1992/2002 highlighted the crucial issues of environment and development which
need to be resolved if we are to create a more just and ecologically sustainable society. These issues
have global, national and local dimensions to them and education has a crucial role to play in creating
awareness of such issues. Too often in the past educators have focused solely on the extent of the
problems rather than the range of solutions. Global education in the 21st century is thus about educating
in a spirit of hope and optimism, which recognises the rights and responsibilities of both present and
future generations.
The utilitarian and market driven ethos of society today is often at odds with the need to work towards a
more just and sustainable world. Traditions such as global education, however, speak to the wider human
condition, which is why it can inspire teacher and taught alike. It is an essential ingredient in any
formulation of effective education. It is time now to make more widely known the good practice that exists
and new initiatives that are currently emerging. Future generations could ask no less than this of
educators at this time.

http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_c/popups/mod18t05s02.html

Change in value from the last report is given as follows:

= increase.
= steady.
= decrease.

The latest index was released in the Human Development Report in October
2009.[2] This statistical update covers the period up to 2007: 1 is the highest possible
theoretical score, indicating perfect education attainment.
All countries considered to be developed countries possess a minimum score of 0.8 or
above, although the great majority have a score of 0.9 or above. For ranking based on
the Human Development Index, see List of countries by Human Development Index.
Rank
2007 data

1
2
3
4
5
6

Education index

Change
compared to
2006 data

(8)
(1)

Country
Denmark
Finland
New Zealand
Australia
Cuba
Canada

2007 data

0.995
0.993
0.993
0.993
0.993
0.991

Change
compared to
2006 data

0.017

2007 da

93
94
95
96
97
98

7
8
9
9
11
12
13
14
14
14
17
17
19
20
21
21
23
23
25
26
27
27
29
29
31
32
33
34
35
35
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44

(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
N/A
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)

Norway
Republic of Korea
Ireland
Netherlands
Greece
Iceland
Armenia
Luxembourg
Spain
Trinidad and Tobago
Sweden
Belgium
Slovenia
France
Lithuania
United States
Italy
Kazakhstan
Estonia
Austria
Latvia
Belarus
Hungary
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Germany
Poland
Japan
Liechtenstein
Israel
Argentina
Antigua and Barbuda
Guyana
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Russia
Bulgaria

0.989
0.988
0.985
0.985
0.981
0.980
0.976
0.975
0.975
0.975
0.974
0.974
0.969
0.968
0.968
0.968
0.965
0.965
0.964
0.962
0.961
0.961
0.960
0.960
0.957
0.955
0.954
0.952
0.949
0.949
0.947
0.946
0.945
0.939
0.938
0.936
0.933
0.930

0.001

0.004

0.001

0.003
0.004

N/A

98
100
101
102
102
104
105
105
107
108
108
110
110
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
121
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136

45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
53
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
61
63
64
65
65
65
65
65
70
71
71
71
71
71
76
77
77
77
77
81
82

(1)
(3)
(23)
(3)
(2)
(4)
(3)
(3)
(40)
(4)
(4)
(3)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(3)
(1)
(9)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(2)
(4)
(12)
N/A
(5)
(2)
(6)
(10)
(5)
(6)
(9)
(10)
(3)
(5)
(7)

Portugal
Slovakia
Venezuela
Tonga
Chile
Kyrgyzstan
Croatia
Romania
Singapore
Mongolia
Cyprus
Turkmenistan
Samoa
Georgia
Moldova
Libya
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Tajikistan
Bahrain
Bolivia
Brunei
Montenegro
Serbia
Brazil
Peru
Saint Lucia
Qatar
Panama
Thailand
Philippines
Uzbekistan
Malta
Mexico
Seychelles
Albania
Palestinian Authority
Maldives
Grenada

0.929
0.928
0.921
0.920
0.919
0.918
0.916
0.915
0.913
0.913
0.910
0.906
0.905
0.902
0.899
0.898
0.896
0.896
0.893
0.892
0.891
0.891
0.891
0.891
0.891
0.889
0.888
0.888
0.888
0.888
0.888
0.887
0.886
0.886
0.886
0.886
0.885
0.884

0.002
0.035
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.070
0.001
0.001

0.001
0.004

137
138
139
140
141
141
143
144
145
146
147
148
148
150
151
152
153

0.003
0.007

0.006
N/A

0.001
0.002
0.001
0.002
0.007
0.007

0.002
0.001

153
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
161
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174

83
84
84
86
87
88
88
90
91
92

(5)
(3)
(3)
(2)
(5)
(3)
N/A
(2)
(1)
(2)

Costa Rica
Colombia
Azerbaijan
Republic of Macedonia
Hong Kong
Bahamas
Andorra
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kuwait
Paraguay

0.883
0.881
0.881
0.880
0.879
0.878
0.878
0.874
0.872
0.871

0.001
0.005

174
176
177
178
179
180
181

0.001

N/A

0.005
0.006

1. HDR_2013_EN_TechNotes. Page 2.
2. Jump up^ http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2009/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index

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The Crisis of Public Education in the Philippines


By Ronald Meinardus

According to the human capital theory, the economic development of a nation is a function
of the quality of its education. In other words: the more and better educated a people, the
greater the chances of economic development.
The modern world in which we live is often termed a "knowledge society"; education and
information have become production factors potentially more valuable than labor and
capital. Thus, in a globalized setting, investment in human capital has become a condition
for international competitiveness.
In the Philippines, I often hear harsh criticism against the politics of globalization. At the
same time, regarding the labor markets, I can hardly think of another nation that is so

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much a part of a globalized economy than the Philippines with nearly ten per cent of the
overall population working beyond the shores of the native land.
Brain drain. Apart from the much debated political, social and psychological aspects, this
ongoing mass emigration constitutes an unparalleled brain drain with serious economic
implications.
Arguably, the phenomenon also has an educational dimension, as the Philippine society is
footing the bill for the education of millions of people, who then spend the better part of
their productive years abroad. In effect, the poor Philippine educational system is
indirectly subsidizing the affluent economies hosting the OFWs.
With 95 per cent of all elementary students attending public schools, the educational crisis
in the Philippines is basically a crisis of public education. The wealthy can easily send their
offspring to private schools, many of which offer first-class education to the privileged
class of pupils.
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Social divide. Still, the distinct social cleavage regarding educational opportunities
remains problematic for more than one reason. Historically, in most modern societies,
education has had an equalizing effect. In Germany, for instance, the educational system
has helped overcome the gender gap, and later also the social divide. Today, the major
challenge confronting the educational system in the country I come from is the integration
of millions of mostly non-European, in most cases Muslim, immigrants. Importantly, this
leveling out in the context of schooling has not occurred in this part of the world. On the
contrary, as one Filipino columnist wrote a while ago, "Education has become part of the
institutional mechanism that divides the poor and the rich."
Let me add an ideological note to the educational debate: Liberals are often accused of
standing in the way of reforms that help overcome social inequalities. While, indeed,
liberals value personal freedom higher than social equality, they actively promote equality
of opportunities in two distinct policy areas: education and basic heath care.
For this reason, educational reform tends to have a high ranking on the agenda of most
liberal political parties in many parts of the world.
This said, it is probably no coincidence that the National Institute for Policy Studies (NIPS),
liberal think-tank of the Philippines, invited me the other day to a public forum on the
"Challenges on Educational Reform." With the school year having just started and the
media filled with reports on the all but happy state of public education in the country, this
was a very timely and welcome event. I was impressed by the inputs from Representative
Edmundo O. Reyes, Jr, the Chairman of the Committee on Education of the House of
Representatives, and DepEd Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz. Both gave imposing
presentations on the state of Philippine education.
Although I have been in this country for over a year now, I am still astonished again and
again by the frankness and directness with which people here address problems in public
debates. "The quality of Philippine education has been declining continuously for roughly
25 years," said the Undersecretary -- and no one in the audience disagreed. This, I may
add, is a devastating report card for the politicians who governed this nation in the said
period. From a liberal and democratic angle, it is particularly depressing as this has been
the period that coincides with democratic rule that was so triumphantly and impressively

reinstalled after the dark years of dictatorship in 1986! Describing the quality of Philippine
school education today, the senior DepEd official stated the following: "Our schools are
failing to teach the competence the average citizen needs to become responsible,
productive and self-fulfilling. We are graduating people who are learning less and less."
While at the said forum, more than one speaker observed that the educational problems
are structural in nature, I missed propositions for reform that are so far-reaching to merit
the attribute structural.
Gargantuan problems. While the Undersecretary very patiently and impressively charted
out the four policy directions of the political leadership of his ministry (taking teachers out
of elections, establishing a nationwide testing system, preserving private schools, raising
subsidies for a voucher system), to me -- as a foreign observer -- these remedies sound
technocratic considering, what one writer in this paper has recently termed, "the
gargantuan magnitude of the problems besetting Philippine basic education."
Let me highlight two figures: Reportedly, at last count more than 17 million students are
enrolled in this country's public schools.
At an annual population growth rate of 2.3 per cent, some 1.7 million babies are born
every year. In a short time, these individuals will claim their share of the limited
educational provisions.
"We can't build classrooms fast enough to accommodate" all these people, said the DepEd
Undersecretary, who also recalled the much lamented lack of teachers, furniture and
teaching materials.
In short, there are too little resources for too many students.
Two alternatives. In this situation, logically, there exist only two strategic alternatives:
either, one increases the resources, which is easier said than done considering the
dramatic state of public finances, or one reduces the number of students.
This second alternative presupposes a systematic population policy, aimed at reducing the
number of births considerably.
But this, too, is easier said than done, considering the politics in this country -- or to quote
Congressman Reyes: "Given the very aggressive and active intervention of the Church
addressing the population problem is very hard to tackle."
Dr. Ronald Meinardus was the former Resident Representative of the Friedrich-NaumannFoundation in the Philippines and a commentator on Asian affairs. E-mail comments
to liberal@philippines.fnst.org
Business World Internet Edition: June 30, 2003
All rights reserved
For more information on the crisis of public education in the Philippines, please refer
to:Liberal Perspectives on Philippine Education.

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