ELAINE HAZEL G.

TORRENUEVA MAED 1 A

1. Gather 7 key issues and problems of the Philippine Education.

Deteriorating quality of education

It is uncommon to hear college teachers decry the quality of students that come to them.
They lament the students’ inability to construct a correct sentence, much less a
paragraph. Private schools have been assailed as profit-making institutions turning out
half-baked graduates who later become part of the nation’s educated unemployed. All
these are indications of the poor quality of education.

There are multiple factors which have led to low educational standards. Studies and fact-
finding commissions have shown that the deteriorating quality of education is due to the
low government budget for education; poor quality of teachers; poor management of
schools; poor school facilities such as laboratory and library facilities; poor learning
environment; the content of the curriculum; inadequate books and science equipment;
the poor method of instruction; shortages of classrooms; and others.

2. Colonial, feudal, imperial, commercial, and elitist orientation in Philippine education

A rather sweeping indictment is that the Philippine educational system has been and still
is basically American in orientation and objectives. Even now, despite years of
independence, our educational system has not succeeded in eliminating the chronic
colonial mentality which abounds like a mental blight within or without the academe. At
present, quality education is financial-capacity based, making higher education more of
a privilege rather than a right.

3. Shortage of school buildings, textbooks and equipment

Since 1960, elementary enrolment has been expanding at the rapid rate of 4% a year
owing to increase in the number of children and in the enrolment ratio.

The shortages of classrooms and textbooks are particularly severe. The nationwide
classroom shortage is estimated to be 40,000 and the DECS (now DepEd) operates two
shifts in many schools. The textbook problem is even more serious. A survey done in
preparation for a World Bank education loan found that the pupil-textbook ration in the
public elementary schools is 10:1 and 79% of the textbooks are more than 5 years old.
This situation has persisted for many years.

Other teaching tools, such as science materials, teaching devices and audio-visual aids,
are also in short supply. Perennial graft and corruption in the acquisition of books and in
the construction of school buildings has often been reported. This situation handicaps the
teaching staff in their work.
4. Overworked and underpaid teaching staff

Teaching has often been referred to as the “most notable of all professions.” To many
teachers, however, the noble image of their profession has been transformed into an
illusion. Over the last three decades, we have come to think of the Filipino teachers as
overworked and underpaid professionals.

The fact that teachers are paid subsistence wages is only half of their sad story. Their
daily bout with dilapidated classrooms, overcrowded classes, and lack of teaching
materials, among others, make the teachers hardly rewarded work even more difficult.

Aside from classroom instructions, teachers perform a host of backbreaking and time-
consuming jobs unrelated to the teaching function. The National Research and
Development Center for Teacher Education under the DECS listed 76 extracurricular
activities performed by public school teachers. Such activities include Operation
Timbang, census taking, tax consciousness drive, Clean and Green Drive, Alay-
Tanim, Alay-Lakad, fund raising campaigns, lining the streets to welcome foreign
dignitaries, etc. To do all these, teachers are forced to work two or three hours overtime
everyday. They also have to report during weekends and holidays and even during their
yearly vacation time.

5. Bilingual policy and the problem of a national language

The bilingual policy in education aims to develop a Filipino who is proficient in both English
and Filipino. For the past 20 years, since the DECS adopted the bilingual policy, Tagalog-
based Pilipino has been used to teach over half of the subjects in the elementary and
secondary curriculum of both public and private schools. Mathematics and the natural
sciences continue to be taught in English. Despite the findings of the Ateneo Social
Weather Survey that 92% of Filipinos already speak and understand Tagalog, many
provinces north and south of Metro Manila still encounter problems with the language.
This is unfortunate because Pilipino is used in nationally conducted exams and tests.
While the bilingual policy is a law which not even the Secretary of Education can change,
it has become a growing concern that many students are deficient in communication
skills.

6. Mismatch

The major problem of the tertiary level is the large proportion of the so called “mismatch”
between training and actual jobs, as well as the existence of a large group of educated
unemployed or underemployed. The literature points out that this could be the result of a
rational response to a dual labor market where one sector is import-substituting and
highly-protected with low wages. Graduates may choose to “wait it out” until a job
opportunity in the high paying sector comes.

To address this problem, it is suggested that leaders in business and industry should be
actively involved in higher education. Furthermore, a selective admission policy should
be carried out; that is, mechanisms should be installed to reduce enrolment in
oversubscribed programs and promote enrolment in undersubscribed ones.

7. Globalization issue in education

It is in the educational sector where the concept of globalization is further refined and
disseminated. It comes in varied forms as “global competitiveness,” “the information
highway,” “the Third Wave Theory,” “post modern society,” “the end of history,” and
“borderless economy.”

The so-called Philippines 2000 was launched by the Philippine government to promote
“global competitiveness,” Philippine Education 2000 carried it to effect through training of
more skilled workers and surplus Filipino human power for foreign corporations to reduce
their cost of production.

The Philippines, including its educational sector, is controlled by US monopoly capital

through loan politics. This task is accomplished by the IMF, the World Bank and a
consortium of transnational banks, called the Paris Club, supervised by the WB. The
structural adjustments as basis for the grants of loans, basically require liberalization,
deregulation and privatization in a recipient country.

As transplanted into the educational sector, deregulation is spelled reduced appropriation

or reduced financial assistance to public schools through so called fiscal autonomies;
privatization and liberalization is spelled commercialized education or liberalization of
governments’ supervision of private schools and privatize state colleges and universities.

The WB-IMF and the Ford Foundation have earmarked $400M for Philippine education.
These loans financed the Educational Development Project (EDPITAF) in 1972; the
Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE) in 1969; the Program
for Decentralized Educational Development (PRODED) in 1981-1989. As pointed out by
many critics, “the massive penetration of WB-IMF loans into the Philippine Educational
System has opened it wide to official and systematic foreign control, the perpetuation of
US and other foreign economic interest, and to maximize the efficiency of exploiting
Philippine natural resources and skilled labor.”

A number of studies and fact-finding commissions such as the Sibayan and Gonzales
Evaluation (1988), the Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE,
1969), and the Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM, 1991-1992) have
pointed out that the problems of Philippine education are the problems of quality and
political will.

2. Enumerate top 10 problems and issues in the Philippine Educcatiomn

2.1 Government Funding for Education EDUCATION AS A SECOND PRIORITY IS THE
TOP PROBLEM IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. EVEN THOUGH THE 1987
PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION ARTICLE XIV SECTION 5 (5) STATES THAT " THE
STATE SHALL ASSIGN THE HIGHEST BUDGETARY PRIORITY TO EDUCATION
AND ENSURE THAT TEACHING WILL ATTRACT AND RETAIN ITS RIGHTFUL
 SHARE OF BEST AVAILABLE TALENTS THROUGH ADEQUATE REMUNERATION
AND OTHER MEANS OF JOB SATISFACTION AND FULFILLMENT," IN REALITY,
MOST OF THE BUDGET OF THE GOVERNMENT GOES TO THE PAYMENT OF
DEBT.
2.2 GRAFT AND CORRUPTION
HE CITED EVELYN CHUA'S BOOK ENTITLED "ROBBED" BY PHILIPPINE
CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM (PCIJ) TELLING HOW THE
CORRUPTION IS GETTING WORSE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
(DEPED). HE SAID THAT LEEWAYS FOR CORRUPTION IN THE AGENCY ARE
THROUGH BOOKS AND TEACHERS' SALARIES. THE BOOKS, HE POINTED OUT,
ALSO HAS A LOT OF PROBLEMS SUCH AS WRONG INFORMATION AND
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. "THE BACK PROBLEM IS CORRUPTION. EVEN THE
SALARIES OF THE TEACHERS ARE BEING CORRUPTED".Disciplinary policies

Technology in Education
Technology in education is a powerful movement that is sweeping through schools nationwide. After all, today's
students have grown up with digital technology and expect it to be part of their learning experience. But how much of
a role should it play in education?

Proponents point out that educational technology offers the potential to engage students in more active learning, as
evidenced in flipped classrooms. It can facilitate group collaboration and provide instant access to up-to-date
resources. Teachers and instructors can integrate online surveys, interactive case studies, and relevant videos in
order to offer content tailored to different learning styles. Indeed, students with special needs frequently rely on
assistive technology to help them communicate and meaningfully access course materials.

But there are downsides as well. For instance, technology can definitely be a distraction. Some students tune out of
lessons and spend time checking social media, playing games, or shopping online.

2.3 Low of salary on the teaching workforce

THE LOW OF SALARY FOR THE TEACHERS "DEMORALIZES" THEM. "IF YOU
WANT THE BEST MINDS TO TEACH, YOU MUST GIVE GOOD SALARY TO THEM. "
EVEN THOUGH PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO III SAID THAT THERE ARE NO
BUDGET TO RAISE THE SALARIES OF THE TEACHER, SALGADO SAID THERE
ARE ADEQUATE FUNDS BUT THAT THERE IS MISAPPROPRIATION LIKE THE P10
BILLIONPRIORITY DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUND (PDAF) CONTROVERSY.
"WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH MONEY IN THE WORLD, BUT IT COULD BE DONE BY
THE GOVERNMENT," HE SAID ABOUT RAISING THE SALARIES.The teaching
evolution

Poverty
Low-income students tend to perform worse in school than their more affluent peers. Studies have shown that family
income strongly correlates to student achievement on standardized tests. 22 That may be partly because parents with
fewer financial resources generally can't afford tutoring and other enrichment experiences that can boost student
achievement. In addition, low-income children are much more likely to experience food instability, family turmoil, and
other stressors that can negatively affect their academic success. 23

All of this means that teachers are faced with instructional challenges that go beyond students' desires to learn.

2.4 BULLYING
STUDENT RIGHT VIOLATIONS, HOWEVER, DEPEND ON THE STRICTNESS OF A
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF THE STUDENT AFFAIRS, HOW TIGHT THEY ARE IN
SCREENING AND COMPOSING A STUDENT ORGANIZATION. THE PROBLEM ON
BULLYING, FOR HIM, ALSO LIES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW IN
 SCHOOLS. "IF SCHOOLS CAN'T IMPLEMENT IT, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG
WITH THE SCHOOLS, HE SAID". IT WOULD BE GOOD IF THE SCHOOL WILL
INSTANCE CLOSE CIRCUIT TELEVISION (CCTV) CAMERAS IN THEIR AREAS TO
MONITOR THE ACTIVITY OF THE STUDENTS. TEACHERS MUST ALSO BE
TRAINED TO HANDLE BULLYING. "THE LAW IS THERE, BUT THE LAW IS GOOD
AS THOSE WHO IMPLEMENT IT".

2.8 Class Size Conventional wisdom holds that smaller classes are beneficial to student learning. Teachers often
argue that the size of a class greatly influences the quality of the instruction they are able to provide. Indeed,
research has shown that smaller classes do lead to improved student outcomes, particularly for low-income and
minority students in the early elementary grades.24

Many (but not all) states have regulations in place that impose limits on class sizes. However, those limits become
increasingly difficult to maintain in an era of budget constraints. Reducing class sizes requires hiring more teachers
and constructing new classrooms. And, arguably, allowing class sizes to expand can enable districts to absorb
funding cuts without having to make reductions to other programs such as art and physical education.

Critics argue that smaller class sizes do not confer as much of an advantage as proponents claim and that the
staggering cost of limiting class sizes makes such policies unworkable.

Emasculation and demoralization of teachers