Gilbert Teodoro

Teaching in English would help a lot for our literacy. Teaching in English opens a lot of avenues for greater literacy which is the stepping stone in technical fields and other fields. Going back to the meat of the question, this is once again a resource decision. We cannot do that without adequate resources. The solution is to expand the revenue base, constitutionally & legally, and through enhanced fiscal measures and with efficient tax collection.

To know more about my take on different issues visit http://gibo.ph/issue.aspx

Bayani Fernando

Ang basic education ang weakest link sa ating educational system. Repormahin natin ito. Kapag mahina ang basic education ay marupok din ang pagaaral ng estudyante. Ayon sa isang recent study ng National Statistics Coordination Board, kaunti ang 4th year and grade 6 students ang may 75% mastery benchmark in English, Filipino, Math and Science. Kinakailangan na baguhin ang curriculum para palakasin ang kaalaman ng estudyante sa English, Science at Mathematics. Lumalabas sa iba’t-ibang pananaliksik na ang batang Pilipino ay nahuhuli sa Asia at sa buong mundo pag dating sa mga nabanggit na subjects. Kasabay ng pagbago ng curriculum ay ang masmatinding training program at upgrading ng mga guro na nagtuturo ng mga subjects na ito. Dapat paramihin ng Department of Education ang dami ng teachers na ang major ay English, Science at Mathematics. Kinakailangan din na may sapat na aklat at ibang teaching materials para sa tatlong subjects na ito. Bukod sa mga computer laboratories dapat ay may science laboratories din ang bawat eskwelahan. Nararapat din na makapagpatayo ng masmadaming libraries para sa mga high school at elementary students. Maraming estudyante ang makagagamit ng libro mula sa library sa bawa’t taon na lumipas. Hindi naman kailangan na magpatayo and Department of Education ng library sa bawat eskwelahan. Maaaring magtatag ng library sa gitna ng isang kumpol ng eskwelahan sa mga probinsya. Sa mga urban areas naman maaaring ang local government na ang magpatayo ng library sa bawat baranggay. Meron silang sapat na resources para makapag-order ng mga libro at ibang mga reading materials at i-sustain ang operations ng library. Sa ganitong mga paunang hakbang at tutok ng sambayanan ay mai-aangat natin ang kalidad ng education sa bansa. Kailangan lang po natin gawin ang tama at nararapat kahit mahirap sa simula. Maraming salamat po. Sa political will, titino po tayo.
show comments (26)

MAR Roxas

Last year, I have filed in the senate the Omnibus Education Reform Act of 2008. The bill proposes eight provisions that could institute real, meaningful change in our educational system, namely: • Mandating the use of the mother tongue, or the language first learned by the child and customarily used at home, as the medium of instruction for Grades, 1, 2 and 3. Filipino and English as separate subjects. • Increasing the basic education cycle from 10 years to 12 years. • Establishment of a mandatory in-school direct feeding program for at least Grades 1 and 2, to sustain the nutrition and health of children and prevent dropping out. • Imposition of performance standards, whereby a diagnostic test is administered to students at the end of Grades 3 and 6, to identify those who need special learning assistance as they proceed to the next grade level. • Revising the high school curriculum so that students may be equipped to either pursue further studies or enter the world of work. • Intensive training and continuous upgrading programs for teachers such as on the use of the mother tongue for teaching Grades 1 to 3 and on the teaching of English, Science and Math for teachers who are not majors in these subjects; and • A compulsory pre-school education year. Why do we need educational reform? Simple lang: Palpak ang sistema. The education our children are getting is substandard and incomplete. Consider these facts: • Out of 100 children who enroll in Grade 1, only 65 complete Grade 6. Even less – 43 – graduate from high school.• Only 23% of those who finish Grade 6 can actually understand what they are reading. • Of those who complete 4th year of high School, only 16% achieve the required mastery of Math. The numbers are worse for English and Science: 7% and 2%, respectively. During these times of crisis, our children are most vulnerable. They are being forced out of school, because their parents are hardly coping with skyrocketing food and oil prices. They are being shortchanged and left behind. We can't just put more taxpayers' money in the government's lap and expect change to happen overnight. We are facing a systemic problem, and to solve it requires the political and the active participation of citizens like you.

Richard Gordon

We see a real link between poverty and the level of education and literacy of our people. Almost all of the problems our countrymen face are rooted in poverty.  We are poor, not because of a lack of money but because we lack choices and the ability to create choices for ourselves. Education and literacy are preeminently vital to helping our countrymen create choices for themselves.

To raise the quality of public education and literacy, we are pursuing the enactment of the Health and Education Acceleration Program or HEAP bill which we filed last year.  We must BE ABLE to fulfill the Constitution's mandate to invest a heap of money in education in order to make a LEAP from being a poor country, to a nation where all its citizens are enabled, ennobled, and free. 

Every year, our public education system faces critical shortages in everything from classrooms, chairs, and books to teachers, lab equipment, and computers.  Our public school students also face serious problems with health and nutrition, factors that hamper their mental development and sometimes from prevent them going to school all together.  Our teachers are historically underpaid and under-trained.

HEAP will generate over P70 Billion in additional funds that is needed to build the classrooms lacked by our public schools, provide for chairs, books, computers, and science labs; provide for teachers' training; and provide additional funds to raise the salaries of teachers and principals.

In addition to uplifting the level of public education, it will provide for a year round feeding program (not just noodles but real meals), it will provide for vaccinations, free dental care and free medicines.

Francis Escudero

Dapat pangunahan ng gobyerno ang mga pagbabago sa sistema ng edukasyon sa ating bansa. Sa ating Konstitusyon, nakasaad na dapat pangalagaan at itaguyod ng Estado ang karapatan ng bawat isang Pilipino na magkaroon ng maayos at de-kalidad na edukasyon sa lahat ng antas.

Bilang unang hakbang, dapat itaas ng gobyerno ang budget allocation para sa edukasyon para isulong ang mga pagbabagong matagal nang dapat ipinatupad para itaas ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa ating bansa.

Partikular na dapat tutukan ng gobyerno ang pagpapataas ng kalidad ng basic education o ang unang sampung taon na iginugugol ng mga estudyante sa pag-aaral. Dapat nating isaayos ang school curriculum. We should emphasize on subjects and skills needed to be employable, while retaining core subjects such as English, Science, Mathematics, Philippine History and Active Citizenship, and the Arts to provide our students the skills that will allow them to compete in the global market.

Pagkatapos nating tugunan ang mga isyung ito, dapat nang pag-aralan ng gobyerno ang pagtatayo ng scholarship program na tutustos sa pag-aaral ng mga mahihirap na estudyante. Dapat walang Pilipinong hindi makakatapos ng hanggang high school dahil sa kahirapan.

Dapat ding pagtuunan ng pansin ang problema sa mababang sahod ng ating mga guro sa mga pampublikong paaralan. Ngunit hindi lang dapat simpleng salary increase ang ibigay sa kanila, kundi performance-based salary increase para magkaroon sila ng incentive sa pagtaas ng kalidad ng kanilang pagtuturo.

Ngunit higit sa pagtataas ng budget allocation sa edukasyon, dapat subaybayang mabuti ang paggasta sa pondong ito para masigurong sa tamang mga bagay at para doon sa pinaglaanan lamang pupunta ang pera at hindi sa bulsa ng ilang mga opisyal.