THINK TALK: VP-elect Sara’s Education Policies and Programs

MATALAM, North Cotabato (MindaNews / 8 June) — I thought she first articulated her desire to be the next Secretary of National Defense probably to make sure her plan to oblige young citizens of this country to undergo military service gets going like Russia’s conscripts and South Korea’s BTS law. Probably too, on second thoughts, President-elect BBM (Bongbong Marcos) realized that VP-elect Sara will do better in the Department of Education. With China’s persistent provocations and bullying in the West Philippine Sea, an accidental shooting war may ensue when Inday Sara shall be placed at the helm of the country’s national defense. Remember when she hit a sheriff in the face for being somewhat antagonistic to her orders as Mayor of Davao City?

Foremost in Sara’s list is to prioritize the welfare of DepEd teachers. Due to relatively low salary scale, these teachers are often enticed by loan sharks to borrow money at high interest rates. To address this problem she shall institute a system of promotion where teachers are automatically promoted after five years without the need for vacant items. In the uniformed service (AFP and PNP), the officers rank promotion is done every 3 years.

There are reports, too, that the incremental step increase for career service employees are not faithfully implemented in the DepEd. Sara shall look into this and promised to deal with this head on if she finds out that some personnel can be faulted for this deficiency.

Also listed among the priority concerns of Secretary Duterte-Carpio is to build more schools in the far flung areas to bring education closer to the less privileged sectors of the society. The introduction of the K-12 program brought about the need for more classrooms especially in the secondary level where six grade levels (grades 7 to 12) are lodged. This was made more manifest by the influx of more pupils towards the town centers where schools offering senior high school classes are usually located. There should be more school buildings that will have to be constructed outside the town centers where senior high school classes can also be offered. This will decongest the secondary schools at the town centers presently offering senior high school classes.

The more radical change that the Vice President-elect wants to implement is to halt the allocation of the MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) to individual schools. According to Sara, these measly funds are spread too thinly and has become a source of corruption by some unscrupulous school heads. The DepEd shall provide each school’s need for supplies and materials, equip school libraries with computers, printers, multimedia facilities and equipment, and reliable internet connections. The incoming DICT Secretary, Atty. Ivan John Enrile-Uy, who is also an IT expert, promised to address the issue of painstakingly slow internet speed and poor quality equipment installed by service providers.

Duterte-Carpio also made a commitment to improve learners’ skills especially in the grades 4-6 level. The idea is to enhance the transition from elementary to secondary education. There shall be more trainings for teachers teaching in grades 4, 5, and 6 to equip them with appropriate skills that will make these pupils better prepared for secondary education.

And finally, she disagrees with promoting pupils who cannot read. This practice has been the result of the “no one shall be left out” policy of the DepEd prior to the stint of Secretary Armin Luistro with the DepEd. Under this scheme, the teachers are compelled to pass everyone, otherwise, it will reflect on their IPCR (individual performance competency review). This is, of course, a flawed way of appreciating the situation where the teacher bears the burden of the pupil’s shortcoming.

Many public school teachers all over the country have expressed their rebuff for this defective policy and are now clamoring for the NO READ, NO PASS policy. They expressed their desire that this policy should be adopted nationwide to ensure that “every student promoted is a quality one so we can then move towards quality education the country truly deserves”.

One of the main thrusts of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (RA 10533) is to ensure that every child is a successful reader by Grade 1. Moreover, the “Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP) is designed to equip elementary pupils with strategic reading and writing skills to make them independent while non-readers shall be provided with the necessary interventions.

Under VP Sara’s watch, she will strictly impose the NO READ, NO PASS Policy without being harsh on the non-readers. She said that tutorial reading classes can be organized which shall be strictly monitored by the language supervisors. These tutorial classes shall not be limited to reading only. It shall also address the deteriorating quality of science and mathematics instructions in the public schools as shown by the country’s dismal performance in international competitions.

We used to be among the top performers in international science and math Olympiads. In 2021, China capped the first place followed by Russia and the United States. Other top performers are Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Hongkong, and Iran.

Unless some drastic measures are instituted in the DepEd we shall find it hard to reclaim our remarkable performance in English, Science and Mathematics at the international scene.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Maugan P. Mosaid holds a doctorate degree in rural development. He is a freelance writer, planning consultant, and teaches Statistics and Methods of Research in the graduate school. He can be contacted at mauganmosaid6@gmail.com)