HOW will school-opening day tomorrow under the Aquino administration differ from school-opening day under the previous administration?
For one, the Philippines will start following the K-12 basic education curriculum.
With this, the Philippines ceases to be the only country in Asia that does not follow the basic-education length of schooling standard in the US and Europe.
Overcrowding, insufficient seats and tables and not enough classrooms to accommodate the influx of over 22.5 million public school students are just some of the issues that annually plague the opening of public elementary and secondary schools in the country for the past decade.
The perennial problems in basic education have greeted the growing number of students and parents alike each year despite efforts of the Education department (DepEd) to address the longing of every student for more seats and tables; better school facilities; and enough teachers to support the everyday rigors of learning.
But beyond stating the obvious is the question of what changes and improvements have been undertaken following the change in the administration of the government’s largest bureaucracy.
New and strengthened policies
In his first year seated as head of the basic education sector, Education Secretary Armin Luistro took-over the job by introducing changes at the same time strengthening policies turned-over by his predecessor Jesli Lapus.
Among the continued programs from the previous office is the much intensive campaign for resources mobilization particularly in public-private partnerships (PPPs). The local governments were likewise given its own share of freeing the gap in education resources.
In line with this, the department has inked partnership agreements with the Leagues of Provinces, Cities and Municipalities of the Philippines for a 50-50-percent sharing on the cost of classroom construction.
A group of corporations has likewise pledged along with others to build some 10, 000 classrooms in 40 priority school divisions in a span of two years to aid in the lack of classrooms in the public education sector.
The “Bayanihang Pampaaralan” project of the 57-57 Movement is targeting to consolidate classroom building efforts and direct funds to the construction of classrooms in areas that are most in need of assistance.
The budget allocated for DepEd for 2011 increased by about 19 percent from P172 billion to P207 billion.
However, it could hardly match the resource requirements of at least one million new entrants to the public school system every year, prompting the department’s continued to appeal for everyone to invest in education by supporting its programs.
Bro. Luistro has also ordered changes that supports President Aquino’s desire to see things according to the letter of the law or at least the rules. Sec. Luistro ordered the strict implementation of the 180 academic days, which renders less time for extra-curricular activities and more contact time between students and teacher. He also ordered that training programs particularly those conducted by non-DepEd organizations be strictly supervised.
New officials ushered into the department are now required to have passed the Civil Executive Service board exam prior to being given the position. They will have more tasks to accomplish because there is a slowdown in the hiring consultants. The officials are also new required to visit at least one school when they go on out-of-town trips.
Resource gaps
The Education secretary announced last week that one serious problem can now be crossed out of the list: the recurring textbook shortage.
By October this year, the book to student ratio in the core subjects of Science, English, Filipino, Math and History will be at 1:1. The department rushed the re-printing of needed textbook titles in time for the school opening tomorrow (Monday).
Efforts are now focused on addressing the four other key areas in basic education where gaps are still massive—teachers, classrooms, school furniture (seats and tables) and toilets.
There is still a shortage of 103, 612 elementary and secondary school teachers; 66, 800 classrooms; 2, 573, 212 school furniture and 146, 000 toilets.
This year’s classroom and furniture shortage is exactly the same last year’s. But the shortage of toilets and teachers has increased. More than 10,000 toilets are needed now than last year.
And the school system needs 2,000 more teachers this year.
This can be attributed to the increase of student population in the public school sector from last year’s 19, 717, 101 to about 22.5 million this year.
Local governments have pledged to hire some 50, 000 teachers to serve in their localities this school year making up for the shortfall, while the department has signed agreements with the selected government agencies to utilize confiscated illegally-cut lumber for use in making school furniture.
Under this agreement dubbed “P-Noy Bayanihan” project, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will be providing confiscated logs and lumber. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will get the seats and desks made. And the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) will fund the project, the retrofitting of existing facilities and the initial operating expenses to get the agreement going. PAGCOR has also donated to DepEd its broken slot machines whose usable parts have been turned into school furniture.
Some 250, 000 seats and tables will be delivered under the partnership. About 500 armchairs were made ready for distribution tomorrow as part of an initial consignment from illegally-cut logs seized in a series of operations in Mindanao.
The first batch of armchairs will be distributed to the Caraga region, which has an armchair shortage of 40,000.
Several provinces in southern Philippines are also experiencing the lack of armchairs, particularly Bukidnon (25,844) and Misamis Oriental (12,872) in Region 10 and Compostela Valley (8,057) and Davao del Norte (7,936) in Region 11.
Some statistics
Inventory of the DepEd for this school year cites 25.7 million students (22.06 million in public and another 3.65 million in private schools); 55, 230 public schools; 456, 067 classrooms; 510, 639 teachers and 16 million school seats all in the public education sector.
It has allocated P12. 45 billion for classroom construction and P1.15 billion for school furniture following the 19-percent increase in its overall budget from last year’s P175 billion to P207 billion this year though P165 billion of it would go to personnel salaries.
K to 12 reform
The most controversial and topping all changes in the basic education sector is the K to 12 education reform. This adds a couple of years to the 10-year basic education curriculum.
The Philippines will no longer be the only country in Asia that does not follow the basic-education length of schooling standard in the US and Europe.
Employers in the West can no longer suddenly refuse to promote great-achiever OFWs to higher positions because they had a “deficient” 10-year primary, elementary and high school education.
The DepEd begins enforcing the universal kindergarten program as its first step towards the full implementation of the program this school year.
Sec. Luistro said DepEd is reaching out to more than half a million school-aged children who weren’t able to enroll in May last year.
The department held an early registration day last January 29 in public schools nationwide in a move to achieve universal participation in basic education by ensuring all school-aged children are enrolled for the coming school year.
DepEd has likewise developed a ground map of school-aged children in all three levels: kindergarten, elementary and secondary. This is to ensure that the country meets the Millennium Development Goal targets and the Education For All commitment as the 2015 deadline for these nears.
While review of the new K -12 curriculum is still going on, the program has reportedly received widespread support following the completion of nationwide consultations from February to March this year.
About 77 percent of the 1, 417 participants in the consultation forums, mostly students, have pledged their support of the program.
Consultations are also being held with employers all over the country to ensure that graduates of the K-12 system will be allowed to work upon receiving their diplomas. –MARIA NIKKA U. GARRIGA REPORTER, Manila Times
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