PROBLEMS & ISSUES IN EDUCATION ON

QUALITY/ACCESSIBILITY
Emelyn Grace C. Carit
Issue No. 1: HIGHER EDUCATION ADJUSTMENTS- Higher education
institutions (HEIs) and the Philippine government are doing what
they can to create solutions to the unemployment problem.
Analysis:
CHED reforms transforming agri-colleges into state universities to
provide more opportunities to disadvantaged students. Quality
control is done by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
shutting down programs of schools that aren’t up to standard by
undergoing Program Accreditations increasing the opening of
courses which are demanded by the labor market.
• Issue No. 2: SKILLS/ COMPETENCIES MISMATCH. A higher
education summit took place in early 2013 between business
executives and university administrators, and the outcome was a
list of recommendations for HEIs, one of which was the
“identification of competencies that will be expected from
graduates of higher education institutions in four courses: business
management, information technology, electronics engineering,
tourism and hotel/restaurant management.”
Analysis: Through thorough researches and trainings, the HEIs
updates the quality and contents of their curriculum to meet the
needs of the industries. Their improved relevance to industry,
resulting from their redesign, would only mean greater
employability for their graduates and a stronger workforce for
associated industries.
• Issue No. 3: TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION: Education authorities in the
Philippines are also embracing technology. -In June the Manila Bulletin
reported that the University of the Philippines system has joined forces
with Google to provide Google Apps for Education on campuses
across the country. This means that over 70,000 students, faculty, staff
and alumni of the University of the Philippines will have access to email,
more memory and a file sharing space.
• Analysis: We had embraced technology in the teaching-learning
process but still lagging behind in the full implementation of technology
in the field of education in the entire country. Inadequate provision of
technology infrastructure/equipment and materials in some schools is a
factor. Therefore, the DepEd should provision for the increase of budget
for technological development so that these gadgets/equipment shall
be brought to far flung areas.
• Issue No. 4: MOST STUDENTS PREFER TO TAKE 4-YEAR COURSE: Vocational education
reacts in response to the youth unemployment rate and the desire for students to learn
employable skills, the TESDA has been actively promoting its schools and learning
centers as the more practical option to high school students. TESDA Director General
Joel Villanueva said: “I know the idea of a college or university education is always
appealing. But TVET is more affordable, hands-on, and the path to a good job is
shorter.”
• Analysis: Most of the Filipino students chose to be in the “white collar market” instead of
the “blue collar” ones. Proper guidance and advice should be given to them before
they enter college in order for them to choose the right course/track suited for them.
• Issue: MALNUTRITION = REPEATERS/DROPOUTS: The prevalence of malnutrition among
children 0-5 years old in 2005 is 25% percent (2008 Draft Common Country Assessment
Philippines). It is sad to note that the malnourished are more prone to repeat grade
levels and drop out or achieve less in school.
• Analysis: The Department of Education is implementing the School Based Feeding
Program (SBFP) to help decrease the number of student malnutrition thus also
decreasing the number of repeaters and dropouts.
• Issue: LOW MASTERY OF BASIC COMPETENCIES: The World Bank (WB) (2006) reported
that the Philippines ranked nearly last in student performance on mathematics and
science tests compared to the rest of the East Asia region. Also, more than 90% of
elementary graduates failed the High School Readiness Test, which assessed mastery of
basic competencies in the elementary curriculum.
• Analysis: The Department of Education should strengthen the programs for the core
subjects, Mathematics and Science as well as the other subjects. Teachers should be
trained in accordance to their field and additional teaching techniques that would
lead students to be interested to love the said subjects.
• Issue: Tertiary education is generally of low quality, as evidenced by low passing
percentage in professional licensure examinations conducted by the Professional
Regulation Commission (PRC)(Syjuco, 2006).
Analysis: The HEIs should upgrade their curriculum for the board programs. They should
offer review classes in preparation for the board examinations included in their
curriculum.
• Issue: Tertiary education is generally of low quality, as evidenced by lack of ability of
graduates to be gainfully employed, with only 20 percent of college graduates readily
finding employment (Syjuco, 2006)
• Analysis:
• Issue: There are three perennial problems confronting the Philippine education system
when it comes to provision of quality education, namely: teachers, classrooms and
textbooks.
• Analysis:
Issue: PBEd chairperson Ramon Del Rosario said that, while the efforts of the Duterte
administration on education was laudable, current reforms have still focused more on
access rather than quality. “Too much emphasis on access detached from quality has
led to our children not learning enough and to our graduates not earning,” he said.
Analysis: Pres. Duterte
• Issue: UNEMPLOYMENT & LOW NAT RESULT. Despite significant
steps forward in reforms, such as the K-to-12 basic education
program and continuously increasing budgetary support, the
quality of public education remains laggard in the country, as
manifested by rising youth unemployment and poor
achievement test scores of students from various levels. This was
the assessment of the advocacy group Philippine Business for
Education (PBEd).
• Analysis: Calls for educational reforms to address the needs of
students are frequent. Their focus has been primarily on the
content -- what students should learn, context – the
circumstances students should be learning in, and outcomes--
the knowledge and skills students should acquire. Important
changes have come about as educational reform efforts
focused on the needs of students.
• Trends, Issues, Challenges and Concerns of Philippine Education In the Third Millennium
(http://monitor.icef.com/2013/08/philippine higher-and-vocational-education-
revamped-for 21st-century-demands/
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001852/1 85237e.pdf)